


I will come to your river (wash my soul)

by jeaniesbooks



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Canon Compliant up to 2x13; Season 3 Speculation, F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:01:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 39,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24774319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeaniesbooks/pseuds/jeaniesbooks
Summary: "Hang on. How do you know he's evil?" Alex wonders, looking more confused than ever."Is it because he has a beard and is dressed in black?" Kyle jokes.Michael, Max and Isobel look to each other silently."Wait, is it because he has a beard and is dressed in black?" Rosa asks, a little less jokingly, but laughter obvious in her voice."He also speaks like an evil John Wayne." Isobel states.That's when they burst into laughter. She should have seen it coming, really. It is a ridiculous story, now that she's had time to think about it.After Crashcon, Liz's move and the discovery of the Evil Clone, not to mention a potentially murderous paramilitary organization, the alien Scooby-Doo gang has a lot to deal with.My attempt at Season 3, with a focus on friendship and found family.See notes for more precise summaries of chapters and chapter summaries for some sneak peeks! :)(tags have been updated for information, but it does not mean that all relationships are established) (it does mean that I am probably spoiling my fic however)
Relationships: Forrest Long/Alex Manes, Isabel Evans/Kyle Valenti, Max Evans/Liz Ortecho, Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Comments: 14
Kudos: 60





	1. Nobody Not Really

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first fic, ever, so I'm a bit nervous but I'm also really excited! I really love these characters, but something's been missing for me in the past two seasons: friendship (and found-family)!  
> Title is from the song River, by French-Cuban sister band Ibeyi (they're amazing, check them out!)  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHRAPIwsS5I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "So, Dr Valenti, does this mean we can escort her to her home?" Alex asks, in a voice she's rarely heard on him. Is he flirting with Kyle?
> 
> "Why, yes, Captain Manes, I believe it does." Kyle answers in the same ridiculous tone, before bursting in laughter.
> 
> "You two have officially been spending too much time together lately." Liz sighs, even though she's smiling.
> 
> "That's what you get for refusing that I live alone for three weeks because 'you never know what could happen, and you could always use a guy who has a gun and actually knows how to use it.'". Kyle says, imitating the rushed worried voice Liz gets when she talks about her family.
> 
> "'Think about it, Alex. He's Rosa's brother, so that makes him your family too. And I know for a fact you and Rosa did weird blood bonding rituals when we were young, so you have to say yes.'." Alex says, adding some characteristic Liz hand movement to his imitation.
> 
> "You two are idiots." Maria laughs, while Liz hides her face behind her hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter picks up one month after Crashcon, and we catch up with the gang. The first two chapters sort of function as a two-part season premiere, which is the closest I'll ever get to writing for television.  
> I hope that I do them justice, I'll see you at the end of the chapter!  
> Title from Alicia Keys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RifTSfFGngQ

Kyle is tired. Too tired to be dancing with yet another stranger at Planet 7, while his girlfriend is moving to another state and his not so small town is facing yet another alien-related disaster. Ex-girlfriend actually.

After Steph got out of the hospital, they had tried to make it work, going on dates, debating politics. Ultimately they had agreed that they didn't really work together though. And she'd left, and now he was alone, dancing in a club surrounded by strangers. He feels like the hero of one of those indie films Isobel keeps showing him. ('You're not that bland. At least not anymore.', a voice that sounds an awful lot like Alex says in his head).

He should actually be with Alex right now (and the others). He might have lied about his shift being longer than it really was. And if he shows up late to discuss strategy, he'll be forgiven, right? Leaving girlfriend and all that.

* * *

  
When Kyle finally shows up, it is after a long hour of ridiculous sibling bickering, Alex looking slightly amused and smiling her way, and Liz looking worriedly between her and a suspiciously silent Max every 10 seconds. She is finally home for a long weekend. Oh, and Jenna, who just seems overwhelmed by the chaos of the alien Scooby-Doo gang, as Maria calls it.

"WELCOME TO THE PARTY DOOOC!", a very drunk Michael yells into Kyle's ear as he opens the door to the Crashdown. "Very nice of you to join us after heroically saving lives."

"Ignore him, he's just sad we ruled out his "let's build memory erasers like in Men in Black idea.", Isobel says, pouring herself a cup of coffee. 

"That's just because you're thinking of basic boring Men in Black. I'm talking bisexual Men in Black."

"Mikey, I already told you Thor and Valkyrie have better things to do than come to Roswell." Liz says, coming out her staring context. "Kyle! How's Maria? Do you think she can come home tomorrow?"

"I think so. She's been out of the woods for a while, but her latest lab results are so perfect she could probably win the healthiest person in America award."

"So she is back to her spectacular self?" Isobel asks from the table where she is sitting. 

"For sure. She has many opinions when it comes to strategies to take down paramilitaries. She even made a list." Kyle says, handing a piece of paper to Alex. He puts on a smile, but looks like he's about to pass out from exhaustion. He still has glitter on his face, but she doesn't think anyone's noticed. 

"How to take down a paramilitary organisation that is probably really into murder. It just says FOLLOW THE MONEY in all caps.", Alex reads, laughing. He looks happy. As happy as you can be when you're facing a paramilitary organisation intent on killing you, but happy. She's glad to see him like that, free of weights he's been carrying since he was a teenager (and others that have burdened him since, not that she was around to see it). He had a date tonight. A real adult date with a real adult man. She's so proud. 

"That's kind of genius actually. We already know they have a symbol they put on everything. We find who made the rings, we interrogate them til we get an answer." Jenna chimes in. She's really smart. And a lot more tolerable than Max, as far as cops go. 

"Okay, okay. And then what?" asks Liz. 

"Then we bring them all to one place and erase their memories, obviously.", Alex answers, warranting loud laughs from a very subjective (and honestly, very exhausted) audience. He's making jokes! That's a sign of happiness, right? 

"Or we gather enough evidence against them that they can be sued for high treason or something like that." Rosa finally says, smiling fondly at Alex. "What? I've been watching The Good Wife a lot. It's your fault for reminding me Julianna Margulies existed." she adds at the questioning look Kyle throws her way. (It really is his fault: 'Remember ER? With Julianna Margulies? That's when I knew I was really into medicine.'. Her brother is an idiot.).

"They've probably been careful though, we might have to fabricate some stuff. And I'm not sure that would hold up in court.", Alex says, a lot more seriously this time. You can be happy and serious, right? 

"And what's to stop them from revealing everything they know? From showing the world proof that we exist?", Max finally says from the back of the diner where he had been hiding.

"Once we get to them, it shouldn't be so hard to get all their data and erase it, right Alex?", Liz asks, worriedly. Ever since she's come back, Liz has been worried. About her, about Max, about their dad. Rosa wishes she would worry about herself sometimes. Eat enough, take care of her self, see her friends outside of secret strategy meetings. She can't help but feel like her little sister is not really living. Maybe hasn't been really living for the past 10 years? She knows she shouldn't feel guilty, it's not exactly her fault she was killed by a bitch-ass alien, but she still can't help it.

"I honestly don't know", he sighs. "I have no idea what security they have, how we'll get in, what they know, or even who they really are. I don't think we can plan that much ahead. For now, I think we can only make contingency plans."

"So step 1 is follow the money, and once we find them, what? We go undercover? I get in their minds? And if we get discovered, we run?" Isobel lists, doubtful.

"We find them, we cut the money, we take everything they have and we leave them with nothing. No money, no weapons, no data, no connections to get more money", Alex says.

Jenna nods. "And if we get discovered, we run."

"And then we erase their memory." Michael whispers, completely slumped down on a chair he seems to have merged with. Why Alex loves (or loved? Or still loves but is not in love with? Something like that) that idiot, she will never understand.

* * *

  
Being in and out of a hospital bed for a month sucks. It sucks especially when your name is Maria DeLuca and you haven't taken a day off in almost a decade. It especially sucks when your friends from the alien Scooby-Doo gang are taking down a paramilitary organisation and risking their lives (again) without you. Kyle had been kind enough to take her very short, but very clear list, but she hadn't heard anything since. So much for finally creating a group chat so everyone could be kept in the loop (seriously, how did they survive so far without one?).  
"Can we come in?", Liz asks as she knocks on her already open door (there is also no privacy in a hospital and she really really misses her independence).

  
"How do you look good in a hospital gown?" Alex asks this time, smiling softly at her. They're wearing perfectly reversed outfits. Alex has his black leather on top of a read soft shirt, while Liz is wearing a black tank top beneath the red leather jacket she clearly stole from Rosa.

"Well, I do what I can" she answers in a laugh. That's when she notices the rolling chair Liz is pushing around. Or rather, the balloons attached to the rolling chair. Two white balloons covered in roses of countless colors (colors she didn't even know existed), drawn in a chaotic yet perfectly aligned way. Maria notices the black Pisces sign near the knot.

"Did Rosa draw these?"

"Yes. She also said: 'Fuck these bitch-ass aliens, their DNA and their weird-ass proteins, you're the healthiest person in America.'.", Alex says in a laugh. 

"And then she demanded you be home for dinner because it's not everyday we get to have a family dinner." Liz adds.   
Alex laughs. He's been doing that a lot lately. And it's not fake, she can tell. She feels so happy for him. "So she sent us to harass Kyle into releasing you."

"Now, there's no need to resort to that kind of tactic" Kyle exclaims, chart in his hands. "Honestly, it's getting a little hard justifying keeping you around when you're in better health than most of the medical staff."

She likes Kyle. He's grown into a really good friend, especially to Alex. They had time to talk these past few days. About the need for universal healthcare, and the obvious chemistry between his two interns, but also about their lives. Her mom, his dad. His job that made him more humble every day, her business that was somehow still standing. His dying girlfriend who he wasn't technically dating since she left for California. Her relationship with an alien cowboy which had technically ended after she told him to express his feelings.  
He'd apologized, a lot. They'd talked about Alex, too. About how happy they were that Greg was around, and that he made Alex know that he was loved (they might have cried talking about that).

"So, Dr Valenti, does this mean we can escort her to her home?" Alex asks, in a voice she's rarely heard on him. Is he flirting with Kyle?

"Why, yes, Captain Manes, I believe it does." Kyle answers in the same ridiculous tone, before bursting in laughter.

"You two have officially been spending too much time together lately." Liz sighs, even though she's smiling.

"That's what you get for refusing that I live alone for three weeks because 'you never know what could happen, and you could always use a guy who has a gun and actually knows how to use it.'". Kyle says, imitating the rushed worried voice Liz gets when she talks about her family.

"'Think about it, Alex. He's Rosa's brother, so that makes him your family too. And I know for a fact you and Rosa did weird blood bonding rituals when we were young, so you have to say yes.'." Alex says, adding some characteristic Liz hand movement to his imitation.

"You two are idiots." Maria laughs, while Liz hides her face behind her hands. "Do I really need the chair?"

"Hospital procedure I'm afraid. You have to bring the chair back though, I can't be seen conspiring with any more hospital material thieves." 

  
As they roll to the front door, Maria can see Liz mouth a small "I'm really sorry" to Kyle. Returning all the equipment wasn't easy, but according to Michael, telekinesis had been helpful, and Kyle was safe. Liz was still going to apologize for a while though.

"You're coming to dinner tonight, right?" she asks Kyle more clearly.

"I wouldn't miss it. And I was promised satanic rituals."

"Okay, for the fifteenth time this week, Rosa and I weren't in a satanic cult, we just liked wearing black." Alex says, his hand on Maria's shoulder. She can't wait for dinner.

* * *

  
The green hills, under a bright blue sky. It's not New Mexico blue, it's... it's also not like the blue from yesterday, above the ocean and its huge waves. He's been seeing a lot of things lately. He doesn't even have to close his eyes, they just appear in his brain. 

  
"Michael, are you up and decent?" the knock on his Airstream and the voice of his sister takes him away for a bit.

  
As he opens the door, he is greeted by the sight of Max, looking like death under his cowboy hat like he has for the past week. Michael has been less angry lately. They've talked more, and their link has gotten stronger. Max is not big on talking about his feelings however (unlike Michael who is very good at communication) and he doesn't really know what's been going with him lately. He went from complete mania to numbness. No explanation.

  
"I brought breakfast!" Isobel says, showing a bag from the Crashdown and coffee.

"Coffee I very much like." Michael sighs, putting his hat on, and going towards Max. "You wanna sit?" 

"Sure." Max answers in a small voice.

They all sit around the long burnt out fire pit, and drink coffee in complete silence.

"Okay, so, it's been three weeks since clone night, and I know you two don't do therapy because it doesn't fit into the toxic macho cowboy broodiness, but we have to talk about this. We're a family, and we can't really be a family if you two can't speak to each other about the touchy-feely stuff. The last thing we had of our moms blew up" she says, looking at Michael, "and you died for the second time in a year, because apparently original storytelling is overrated." she tells Max. "And I'm going crazy playing messenger between you two. You do realize that we could have started looking into Deep Sky a month ago if it wasn't for your ridiculous behavior, right?" she finally exclaims.

"We couldn't look into Deep Sky because Alex didn't know if he could trust Nazi guy yet." Michael snickers. At the irritated look Isobel gives him: "I'm sorry we've been terrible brothers and put you through this. But I'm fine, really. Maria and I have been talking a lot, and things are good, and I'm okay with the console, really. It's not like it could have taught me anything about our families." She looks doubtful. "Okay, maybe not fine, but getting there.". He tries a soft smile, hoping to convince her. 

"I'm sorry too." Max finally says. "I haven't really been feeling like myself since Crashcon." Isobel looks at him with sorrow in her eyes. "It's not just dying, or just the memories that keep coming back, or whatever... whoever was in that cave. I felt strong when I fought Flint, that thing I hadn't felt since before... when I brought Rosa back. And nothing seems to live up to that. And that's not fair to you, but I just don't know how to change it. I can't just go around blowing up electric poles just to feel better. Or just wait until I become the worst version of myself." he blurts out in a breath.

Michael has never seen him like this. He's been broody, sure, lost in his Russian tragedies, sad about Liz. But never this. This isn't broody, this is depressed. (Maria might have made him get a few psychology and self-help books from the library. 'It's not therapy but it's better than drowning your feelings in booze, Guerin.').

"I'm sorry I've been a such a dick." Michael finally responds. And he is, sorry. Max may not be the brother of the year, but he and Isobel are his only family, and he knows by now that he should hold on to family (otherwise they leave you for pretty blue-haired historians). He is not responsible for his terrifying childhood nor for the fact that he was 'The Child', whatever that's supposed to mean. "I'm sorry that I blamed you for everything." he says in a hushed voice.

Max seems lost. "I haven't really been a brother to you, and I'm sorry I hadn't realized before it was too late. I'll do better. For both of you." Michael doesn't really know if he believes him but this could be the start of something new. That something new they hadn't really been able to start after Max came back. He gives him a small smile.

Isobel looks teary. "Okay, now that that's done, we can focus on the real subject of the day. How do I convince Gregory Manes to let me adopt his children and marry me?"

"Sure, pining after another Manes brother sounds like a great idea." Max says with a smile.

"Says the guy who spent 20 years pining after a girl because she made him listen to music." Michael laughs. "Besides, I'm not pining. I've moved on, he's moved on. We're friends." he adds defensively. 

"Yes Max, everyone uses their platonic friend's clothes as a pillow and stares at them like they're the stars, the moon and the galaxy they were born in." Isobel mocks as she gets up from her chair. "Come on Max, we have meetings. And Michael has about thirty cars to fix if he ever wants to buy us breakfast."

Max gets up, gives Michael a hug that lasts a little bit longer than usual. Turning to Isobel, Michael asks:

"Meetings, huh? So you're finally running for office?"

"Oh absolutely. I just have to take down a massive anti-alien conspiracy first."


	2. All My People / All Mankind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Rosa, you can't enable him." Alex whines. 
> 
> "Oh no, please do." Maria begs. "'Cause when you ignore him, he texts me."
> 
> "It happened once." Kyle says defensively, mouth full of food. 
> 
> "Eight texts in three minutes to describe the beauty of the Wild Pony."
> 
> "It is a really nice bar. 'All worn-out wood and smells of beer and history'." Liz finally says in a mocking serenading voice. 
> 
> "You should be a poet." Arturo states confidently, smiling at Kyle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all of you for leaving kudos, commenting, or even just reading!  
> This chapter continues the exploration of our characters a month after Craschcon. Rosa, Isobel and Jenna are looking into Deep Sky, Max visits the doctor, there is a family dinner and Gregory Manes makes his first apparition!  
> Title is from Liam Gallagher (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ccB5MyUN-dA)

When Isobel finally enters the bunker, it's almost noon. Convincing city council to put money in schools instead of funding an alien artefact museum is harder now that she's a good person that doesn't use her powers to get what she wants.

"Did you get lost on your way Evans?" Jenna's voice inquires from behind a computer.

"She didn't get lost, she looks too smug. Did you humiliate the mayor again?" Rosa asks from the center table that is covered in papers.

"I didn't humiliate him. I just made him vote in favor of something he was against, that's different. I also brought pizza so we wouldn't starve to death."

Jenna stretches as she gets up from her chair.

"Great. Now you can start calling all the jewelry makers in the state while I go through financial statements." she says as she grabs a pizza box. 

"Getting information out of uncooperative salespeople is my specialty. How far along are you?"

"I hung up with Mr. Alvarez from Santa Fe right before you showed up." Rosa exclaims proudly before showing her a list. "So that's 14 out of 1678." Jenna laughs darkly. 

Isobel sits near the table and takes a decided look at the stack of papers. Did they somehow multiply since she arrived?

"Alright I'll start from Z, you keep going, and we'll meet in the middle, hopefully before the end of the world."

"Or at like C." Rosa says with a daring smile.

* * *

Iz had been insistent for him to get checked out, again, so Max had no choice to go to the hospital to meet with Kyle, again. They had been spending a lot more time together, looking into mysterious kidnappings, and the doctor had grown on him. He is still refusing to text him and insists on calling him by his last name, but Max has the feeling Kyle doesn't find him as annoying as he used to (he told him he smelled like rain, you don't tell that to someone you hate, right?). 

As the elevator doors open he finds him leaning on a pillar, looking tired. 

"Evans, finally! Did Iz drag you to city hall again? She promised me you wouldn't be late this time."

"The mayor took a bit more convincing than she thought."

They start walking towards an exam room. "Wait, you call my sister Iz?" 

"She insisted." Kyle answers with a cryptic smile. 

Max isn't sure he wants to know more. 

"So she tells me you've been feeling weird lately. And Michael says it's like you're not fully here." Kyle trails as he closes the door. 

"You talk to Michael? I don't think it has anything to do with my heart. It's more like I need an outlet for alien powers. Which I can't act upon because of I do, my pacemaker blows up." he answers.

"Right, glad you've been listening."

"I always listen during pacemaker talk."

Kyle smiles but looks doubtful as he brings forward an electrocardiogram. "Still gonna check though." 

Max unbuttons his shirt and lets Kyle place the receptors, looking towards the ceiling. 

"So, how's work?" 

"We don't have to do small talk Evans." he scoffs as he looks towards the screen. 

"Right."

Max doesn't like silence. Silence makes him think. Silence makes him miss the electricity in his fingers. Silence makes him crave the supernatural abilities he knows he can't use. Silence makes him yearn for the speed of his brain.

"Okay, that seems good, now I'm gonna need you to hop on the treadmill." Kyle tells him, breaking his spiral. 

Usually exercise makes his brain stop. That's what it did when he started working out. He's been too afraid since Crashcon, Kyle drilling in him that he would need some time to get used to pacemaker-only. He's also convinced himself, during one of his multiple sleepless nights, that Clone-He-Refuses-to-Acknowledge (that's his name now) is only waiting for this chance to take over his life. 

He can feel his heart quicken, images flooding his head. Flint, howling with his hands on his chest. Flint falling. And then black. His blood keeps pumping faster, he can feel his feet quicken before the machine slowly comes to a halt. 

"Okay, I think everything looks good." Kyle forces him to open his eyes. "If you sit down, I'll just listen, make sure everything's in order." he says as he takes his stethoscope. 

The cold brings him back into the world fully. 

"Alright, deep breath..." 

Feeling the air in his lungs is new. He never noticed before. Breathing was natural. 

"In."

Now every breath is a miracle. 

"Out." 

Something he's not sure he deserves.

"In."

But for some reason, people fought to bring him back. Twice. 

"Out." 

So he might as well become someone deserving of that. 

"All sounds good." Kyle says. "Do you need me to make you a note saying you're allowed to run?" 

"I'm sure my mom would love that." Max jokes. He somehow feels better than when he first arrived.

"You know, I'm not sure it's me you need. We have this therapist here, she deals with a lot of people who've survived heart failures, or who came out of a long coma, she could probably give you a hand with this whole 'I died twice in less than a year' situation." With a kind smile, he hands him a card. He doesn't mention the 'evil clone' situation, which Max is thankful for. "You don't have to decide just yet, but maybe think about it?" he offers as they walk towards the elevator.

"I will. Thanks." Max answers after a bit. "Seriously, thank you for everything. I feel like we don't tell you enough." Max says softly, with a hand on his arm. 

Kyle looks flushed. Does no one ever thank him for anything? "I'll see you around." he says, as the doors to the elevator open and Max steps in. 

* * *

Alex and Kyle arrive together, laughing. They've been doing that a lot lately, becoming a family in every sense of the word.

"Boys, welcome! It's really nice to see you!" her father says while setting up the table. "¿Kyle, como está tu mamá?"

"She's good Mr. Ortecho, really good. How are you?"

"Well things at the diner have been good, my girls are good..."

"You're staring again." Rosa whispers in her ear.

"Am not."

"I know you think it's all gonna be taken away from you because the universe is against you or something, but we're here. All of us, somehow. And we all care way too much about this to ever let it go."

"I love you." she whispers back, wrapping her sister in a hug. She's still the big sister somehow. Barely out of high school but as wise as ever.

Maria finally arrives. "This diner has never smelled so good." she says to Arturo, hugging Alex and Kyle (those two are friends now? She definitely has some catching up to do.).

"Alright, now that the whole family's here, we can eat!" Liz exclaims, hopping down from the counter.

"YAAAAAAAAAS FOOOOOD" Rosa yells as she rushes past her to sit. (giving her access to Netflix and Queer Eye is both the worst and the best thing that's ever happened).

"I'm sorry I have to leave at ten, Greg is in town, and I promised him a beer before he went back to the rez." Alex explains as he sits down as well.

"That's okay, the little one should be wiped out by then, she's been up since 6." Maria laughs, kissing Rosa's cheek.

"Well this little one has been up since 5, so him being here for dinner is honestly a bit of a miracle." Alex says, ruffling Kyle's hair.

"I'm not... I... Never mind." Kyle finally sighs.

"I thought you two didn't live together anymore. That you weren't 'children that need to be watched 24/7'." Liz laughs. 

"He texts. A lot." Alex notes. 

Rosa pulls out her phone.

" _ **5:06** did you notice the sky was practically orange this morning?_

_**5:12** hospital coffee is a personal attack against my taste buds_

_**6:08** Carol says I work out too much_

_**6:09** do you think I work out too much?_

_**8:48** did you know it was possible to swallow 45 scrabble letters?_

And my favorite

 _ **19:26** Do you think your dad wants me to wear a tie?_"

"In my defense, you answer most of them. And

 _ **8:47** did you know it was possible to drink 8 little green men in a row?_" Kyle points out.

"Rosa, you can't enable him." Alex whines. 

"Oh no, please do." Maria begs. "'Cause when you ignore him, he texts me."

"It happened once." Kyle says defensively, mouth full of food. 

"Eight texts in three minutes to describe the beauty of the Wild Pony."

"It is a really nice bar. 'All worn-out wood and smells of beer and history'." Liz finally says in a mocking serenading voice. 

"You should be a poet." Arturo states confidently, smiling at Kyle.

The conversation keeps going, from Maria getting to the last year of her mortgage payments, to Alex redoing his bathroom, to Rosa's latest art project that involves repainting the entire house and probably the diner too. They even talk about Liz's plans, about her work in California. About the possibility of working from the hospital here sometimes so that she can spend more time with her family. They laugh and joke and eat and for a few hours she forgets about the sadness, the pain and the constant fear that she's been feeling for a month. Kyle and Rosa both mentioned (in a very unsubtle way that told her they had been talking about it) that seeing a therapist had been really helpful but she has her doubts. She can't exactly come up to one and say "So my alien ex-boyfriend died twice in a year. The first time was after resurrecting my sister whose murder by another alien he and his alien siblings had framed as a car accident 10 years ago. Oh and he also blew up the lab I used to experiment on his DNA.". She'll be fine, she just needs to focus on her family, and on her science, and the rest will fall into place. 

When Alex leaves and Arturo goes to sleep, Kyle and Maria stay back to help clean up. Cleaning up quickly becomes making popcorn and watching Queer Eye with Rosa (the little one falls asleep quickly, but stays awake long enough to criticize Tan's choice of shoes).

* * *

Alex crosses the door to the Wild Pony, happy. Greg has always been his favorite brother. Reconnecting with him has been the highlight of his year.

He finds him at a table, already two beers in front of him.

"Little brother!" Greg exclaims as he gets up to wrap him in a hug.

His hugs feel really nice. Almost like his mom's, taking all the air out of his lungs while making him feel more alive than ever.

"It's good to see you." Greg says as he sits back on his chair.

Alex sits in front of him and grabs his beer. "It's good to see you too, big brother."

"So how was dinner? How's everyone?"

"Dinner was good, everyone's good. It was nice to see Liz, I think she spends more time in the sun in California. Rosa has been doing really well since coming back from rehab. Maria is finally out of the hospital for good, and she's in great shape. Kyle is doing better, getting over his break-up I think. And Arturo's food... I only don't know how I survived away from his food. Did I mention it was a nice dinner?"

Greg won't stop smiling at him. "I'm so glad they're back in your life, they seem to be making you really happy."

"Yeah, they're pretty great." Alex laughs.

Greg won't stop staring at him with a knowing smile.

"What?"

"Nothing. You just look really happy."

"I am. I have my friends, I have you..."

"A really pretty boyfriend..."

"You... I... You really are exactly like Mom.". Alex can't help but think. 

Greg just smiles softly.

"Forrest is really pretty, yes, and it is going really well. We've been on a few dates, and he's fun, and nice, and really smart, and..." 

"I know that. You texted me that. My question is how do YOU feel about him?" Greg asks, still smiling.

"I really really like him. He's soft, he's... I just really really like him."

"Good. So you're good on the whole Deep Sky thing?"

Greg knows everything. About Michael, about the aliens, about Deep Sky. All of it. He just couldn't lie to him anymore.

"I trust him. He joined them after coming back from Iraq, when he couldn't find a job, but he left after a year. He told me they're weird and culty, and I don't think that's really his scene."

"Good."

"You've said that."

"Well, I mean it. It's good."

"You're good too, right?"

"Yeah. The kids are amazing, and I wouldn't trade my job for anything. I like my life. It's not perfect, but the reservation is the only place that's ever felt like home."

Alex looks at his brother with insistence. They were never taught to speak their mind, to feel and express their feelings, at least once their mother left. 

"I guess I'm just a bit lonely sometimes. You're here, Flint is in Santa Fe, Clay's in DC and it's not like we were ever that close. I guess sometimes I really just want a family of my own, you know?"

"Yeah, I do actually."

They smile softly at each other.

"So, you've heard from Flint?" Alex finally asks.

"Yeah. He's been going to therapy, says it's been good for him."

"Good. I'm glad."

"I can't believe you were right." Greg says, chuckling. 

"I just don't think I can keep on living if I don't believe in people's ability to become better."

"That why you're quitting the Air Force?" 

"I'd just like to believe that it's possible to offer a future to kids without handing them weapons and dragging them to war. Besides I'm not quitting yet. I still have a year." Alex sighs. 

"But?" Greg insists. 

"But Maria's been sending me all these links to classes at the community college, and... I don't know, I guess I could see myself in social work or like a counselor in a school or something. Or teach kids how to code, or show them there's a world outside of here. Nothing's fixed yet, I've just... I finally see a future outside of the military."

Greg just smiles at him. 

"Would you stop that?" 

"I can't. I'm so proud."

"Well, I'm just following in my big brother's footsteps."

Greg looks sheepish. 

"I'm really happy for you little brother."

"Does this mean you'll visit more?" 

"There's a holiday in a couple of weeks, I was thinking I could maybe come and stay here?" 

Alex just hugs him in answer. 

"You're welcome here. Anytime. Day or night."

"I know. I'm still going home tonight though." Greg answers, stretching. 

"Right. School night and all."

Greg laughs. "Yeah. School night and all."

Coming out of the Wild Pony, they walk towards Greg's old car. 

"I'll see you in a week then?" 

"Yeah. Yeah you will." 

They hug, just as tight as earlier tonight. 

"I love you little brother."

"I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a blast writing this chapter, especially the diner scene! Max's scene was the toughest to write though, a lot of emotions from a character whose voice I'm not sure I can fully express yet.  
> I hope you had fun, and that I'll see you at the next chapter!  
> Don't hesitate to leave kudos or comments! I now understand why writers say they fuel them! :)


	3. Cause I Got A Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Howdy partners!" she exclaims. 
> 
> Kyle snickers. 
> 
> "He already made that joke." Alex groans.
> 
> "That's what you get for spending your morning with your most hilarious friends." Isobel laughs as they walk down to the bunker.
> 
> "I promise I won't tell Rosa you said that." Kyle says, smiling at her. They're a lot alike, he has found. She has terrible taste in movies, but she cares about people and she loves Alex and Rosa, which automatically makes her a favorite in his book.
> 
> "I feel like I made a mistake." Alex laments mockingly, looking at the two of them. Kyle looks at Isobel.
> 
> "Yes you have." he states.
> 
> "You are outnumbered."
> 
> "You'll have to answer all our questions about Greg."
> 
> "Does he like flowers?"
> 
> "Does he like chocolate?"
> 
> "Do you think he'd be interested in a personal film festival?"
> 
> "I can answer that one for you: no."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!  
> This chapter's title is from French band Hyphen Hyphen. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMmm-_ROF9Y)
> 
> In this chapter, we start with a little flashback (and Michael's struggles with technology), we see Liz at work, Alex and Maria talk, and things finally start moving on the plot front.

_**A month earlier.** _

"Hang on. How do you know he's evil?" Alex wonders, looking more confused than ever. 

"Is it because he has a beard and is dressed in black?" Kyle jokes.

Michael, Max and Isobel look to each other silently. 

"Wait, is it because he has a beard and is dressed in black?" Rosa asks, a little less jokingly, but laughter obvious in her voice. 

"He also speaks like an evil John Wayne." Isobel states. 

That's when they burst into laughter. She should have seen it coming, really. It is a ridiculous story, now that she's had time to think about it. 

Then laughter turns into uncontrollable howls, crackles and snorts. Isobel looks around to see her siblings as dumbfounded as she is. 

"We're serious." she finally says. 

The laughter stops (the tears don't however).

"So you're saying, there is another alien... he is evil... and you know this because he looks... he looks like Max... but with a beard." Rosa says, interrupted by her own convulsions. As she finishes her sentence, Kyle and Alex double down in laughter. 

"Isobel, I know you've been watching telenovelas, but this is..." Alex starts "I don't even know where to start."

"Please tell me you have pictures." Kyle begs. 

**Scooby gang that has yet to adopt a dog** 👽

 ** _Kyle Valenti_** : still waiting on these pictures

 _ **Maria DeLuca**_ : Valenti, your obsession with bearded Max Evans is becoming obvious.

 ** _Kyle Valenti_** : the people want to know

 _ **Alex Manes**_ : Are you texting each other from the same room?

 _ **Kyle Valenti**_ : i don't know, are you texting us from the same room? 

_**Michael Guerin**_ : 1. I don't think those pictures should be anywhere near clouds, NSA, or any spying internet-type thing

2\. Maria was smart enough to make this group text so that we could make decisions about important matters such as: do we go after a murderous paramilitary organisation or do we take on an evil murderous alien clone first.

 _ **Maria DeLuca**_ : Isobel, welcome! 

_**Rosa Ortecho**_ : that 1st part was spot-on tho 👏👏

 _ **Michael Guerin**_ : stop stealing my phobe

 _ **Michael Guerin**_ : phobe

 _ **Michael Guerin**_ : phobe

 _ **Michael Guerin**_ : oh for duck sake

 _ **Michael Guerin**_ : So, should we vote now?

 _ **Alex Manes**_ : I feel like we've exhausted the subject, so yes.

 _ **Alex Manes**_ : Also I vote Deep Sky. We'll keep evil John Wayne in a pod in Michael's bunker. He'll be fine.

 _ **Kyle Valenti**_ : don't love the idea of keeping a guy against his will, but he'll basically be sleeping, so I'm with Alex

 _ **Rosa Ortecho**_ : me too.

 _ **Rosa Ortecho**_ : also, duck the NSA

 _ **Maria DeLuca**_ : I'm all for taking down murderous paramilitaries.

 _ **Liz Ortecho**_ : I feel like I missed a whole lot, but, like I said, taking down paramilitaries all the way.

 _ **Liz Ortecho**_ : didn't we already vote on this?

 _ **Michael Guerin**_ : We said we wanted unanimous, and it wasn't unanimous.

 _ **Kyle Valenti**_ : is it now? I have patients

 _ **Michael Guerin**_ : pod squad votes paramilitary duckers too

 _ **Michael Guerin**_ : i hate this thing

* * *

The alarm rings but she's already awake. The first night back is always hard. Living next to the beach had been her dream, and the waves usually help lull her to sleep but last night had been different. She misses her family.

The way to work is a routine by now, the security checks at the entrance of the brand-new building. She smiles at the security guard as she walks past him to the elevators. Diego is waiting for her when she enters her lab.

"Good morning sunshine!" he tells her, a big smile on his face.

"Morning Diego. What brings you here?"

"The whole Denver lab is here, so I thought I'd stop by, see how you're adapting." he says, big smile still on his face. 

She laughs awkwardly. She's been trying to avoid him every time he's stopped by in the past month (it's been a lot). He's dreamy, sure, she knows, she was engaged to him. But she just broke with a guy who is probably the love of her life, and she has science to focus on. "Good, ethical science" as Kyle calls it.

"I'm adapting well.", she finally tells him as she settles her things on her desk. "The work is incredible, I think we can actually make a difference with our research."

"I'm glad. This research team is the prefect fit for you and your passion for proteins." He's waiting for an answer that she won't give him. Her team is very protective of their research, with good reasons. Even within their company, some people look at their work either with suspicion or with jealousy. She has the possibility to actually change the world, and she won't destroy it just because Diego is batting his eyes at her. 

"And how do you feel about California?" he finally wonders after an awkward beat. 

"I like the sea." she says with a small smile. 

"Everybody likes the sea. I mean, the city, have you made friends yet? How's your dad? Is his green card application going somewhere?" 

"I like my colleagues, we go for drinks from time to time. And my dad's, good, things are progressing." She can't help but be annoyed with him. Last time he asked her that many questions, he tried to figure out what she was doing in her lab. Michael told her he was on his way to show it to their boss before Max blew it up. This, and the way he's looking at her now, like she's an uncooperative suspect, mean that she's stopped trusting him. Only Kyle and Michael know about her side research. Her ideas about creating the miracle protein™ from scratch. In a "good, ethical" way. 

"Look, I have a team meeting in ten minutes and today will be pretty busy, but maybe I can catch you at the end of the day." she trails, going towards her door to leave. 

"Sure." he answers, in a small, almost disappointed voice. 

"Great, see you around then!" she exclaims as she walks down the corridor.

Her meeting goes well. Her morning goes well. Her team is really good, they make each other grow and think.

It's a slow day, despite what she told Diego, so she takes some time to explore the building. She's met everyone on her floor already, and they're all involved in world-changing research, but she has yet to talk to the tech teams, the ones that make sure her research can be financed. 

Their floor is empty as the elevator doors open. Everyone seems out to lunch. Through the glass doors, she can see the works for new security products, movement detectors, heat detectors. Standard work for a company involved so closely with the military. She's about to walk back to the elevator when she sees it. A purple, glowing and very familiar kidney in a big jar, connected to a box that looks a lot like the one that was on her lab door. She takes as many pictures as she can before going back to her office. She takes pictures of the other offices as well. Maybe Michael and Alex can make sense of it. 

She avoids Diego when she sees him near the exit. She doubts he'll be able to answer any of her questions. So much for leaving aliens behind. 

* * *

"My favorite customer!"

Alex chuckles at Maria's welcoming words. "You have no idea how happy I am to see behind the counter again."

"Oh no, is Max too broody for you?" she jokes.

"Max doesn't compliment my choice of clothes nor does he already have a beer ready for me before I show up." Maria notices the black leather jacket he's been wearing every time she's seen him this past month, a soft sweater beneath that looks a lot like Kyle's. 

"Oh well. He's learning." she says, ruffling Max's hair as he comes back behind the bar. He's become a bit of a constant in her life, which she hadn't seen coming. He's a pretty decent guy beneath the white savior exterior.

"I am learning. I even know your favorite beer now." Max defends.

"Max, we only serve one type of beer."

He looks offended, but she knows better by now. Dying made him funnier, she thinks. He's also been coming back to himself the past few days, which, according to Michael, was about time. "Yes, I know, but customers have been asking for greater diversity."

"By customers, do you mean our constantly drunk regulars and your annoying cowboy brother?" Maria asks. Michael has been coming back to the Pony ever since she got out of the hospital. He drinks less, he talks more. It's been nice getting to know her friend again, away from all the heartbreak.

"My annoying cowboy brother is leaning off beer. Apparently he made a deal with someone that he could be sober for a month." Max says as he goes back to serve customers. 

At that, Alex turns to Maria, a wondering look in his eyes. She shakes her head. "Not me." she mouths.

He turns back to stare at Michael sitting at an empty table. He doesn't seem to notice, lost in his thoughts. 

"How is he?" Alex finally asks as he turns back to Maria.

"Better. I think. He's trying to get his life together, to find some stability. He's been talking with Sanders about taking over the garage."

"Good."

Maria looks at him. She knows something happened when Alex sang, that Michael walked away because it was his turn or something ridiculous like that. Alex has yet to talk about it though.

"We haven't really been talking. I sang, and he walked away. I just... I guess we'd kind of become friends, or at least we were becoming friends, before... And well, I kind of miss him. I don't know. I just wish thinking about him would stop being so sad." he sighs.

Maria doesn't know what to say. She doesn't think there is anything to say. There are some words she has been mulling over for a while though, so better now than never.

"Alex." he looks up to her. "I'm sorry."

"Maria, you..."

"No, I have to say this, because you deserve good friends, and I haven't been that great of a friend to you." She comes from behind the bar to sit next to him.

"When Rosa died, when Liz left, and you left, it was just me. And Michael was kind of a constant in my life for 10 years. We weren't really friends, but one thing I knew for sure is that he wouldn't leave." She takes a deep breath. "And then... You came back, and you told he was your museum guy, and I just disregarded that. He told me you were over, and I think we convinced ourselves that that was true, that you had left, and that we got to move on with our lives. I convinced myself that I deserved someone that wouldn't leave."

"You do." Alex says in a small voice.

Maria chuckles sadly. "This is not an excuse Alex. I was a terrible friend, and I'm sorry. I love you so much." She hadn't noticed she had started crying.

"You know I forgave you a while ago, right? We all made mistakes. He made mistakes too." he looks sadly towards Michael, then stares back into Maria's eyes intensely. "So did I, honestly. I should have said goodbye. I should have kept in touch."

"No, no, Alex, I'm not apologizing so that you'll say sorry too. I fucked up. Like really bad. And then I was in too deep, and... So, I'm sorry, and don't you dare say you're sorry too." she tells him. 

"Okay. Then I forgive you." he states. "And I love you too."

Their hug is awkward, in a weird position, but it's the closest they've been in a while. She's not letting him go just yet. 

"Oh, and I'm not going anywhere by the way.", he adds. 

They laugh. "Just home. I have work tomorrow."

They hug again as they stand, less awkwardly. "Greg says hi by the way, he's glad you're back on your feet." Alex says, smiling softly. 

"Well, hi right back then." She always liked Greg. Mimi said he had a kind soul.

She notices Alex wave shyly at Michael as he passes his table, Michael answering with a small smile. 

"You think they'll ever figure it out?" Max wonders as he leans against the bar.

Maria sighs. "That would require proper communication, and I'm afraid there's a shortage of that in the area."

* * *

When Kyle pulls up in front of Forrest Long's house, the sun is already quite high in the sky. June is going to be unbearably hot again, he can tell.

He watches as Alex steps out of the house, followed by Forrest, only wearing sweats. They kiss as if no one is watching them, before hugging tightly. Kyle can't help but think he probably isn't supposed to be seeing this incredibly intimate moment. He also can't help but think that this is exactly what he wants: a soft, easy, beautiful love that no one can hurt. He's still lost in his thoughts when he hears the passenger door's close.

"Good morning Kyle." Alex says, smiling softly at him. (there it is again, soft. God, he really needs a hug.)

"Howdy partner." Kyle answers.

Alex laughs. It's not even a good joke. 

"So, you had a good night?" Kyle asks knowingly. 

"I did actually, Maria and I had a really good talk." Alex smiles knowingly. 

Kyle groans. "You are the worst at gossip. I can't believe Isobel knows more about your relationship than me."

"Speaking of, she is meeting us at the bunker, apparently she made some progress with Rosa and Jenna."

"And I do tell you about my relationship. You're the only one who's read my last song."

Kyle smiles at him. The rest of the drive is silent. Kyle is so happy to have Alex in his life. Always around, always good, always kind. He's pretty sure he's his best friend. He should probably tell him that someday.

They pull up to the bunker at the same time as Isobel. 

"Howdy partners!" she exclaims. 

Kyle snickers. 

"He already made that joke." Alex groans.

"That's what you get for spending your morning with your most hilarious friends." Isobel laughs as they walk down to the bunker.

"I promise I won't tell Rosa you said that." Kyle says, smiling at her. They're a lot alike, he has found. She has terrible taste in movies, but she cares about people and she loves Alex and Rosa, which automatically makes her a favorite in his book.

"I feel like I made a mistake." Alex laments mockingly, looking at the two of them. Kyle looks at Isobel.

"Yes you have." he states.

"You are outnumbered."

"You'll have to answer all our questions about Greg."

"Does he like flowers?"

"Does he like chocolate?"

"Do you think he'd be interested in a personal film festival?"

"I can answer that one for you: no."

Isobel swats his arm. "I will not let you ruin my chances with Gregory Manes."

Alex seems confused. "Wait, you have a crush on my brother?"

"Who doesn't?" Kyle automatically answers. He can immediately feel Alex and Isobel staring at him. Now or never he guesses.

"So, you know how I've been spending some time at Planet 7." he starts. Iz nods, smiling, while Alex just looks more confused and utters a small "What?". "Well, it wasn't just to avoid Liz. I guess, I've been, questioning, for a while. I don't really know yet, but I am definitely not straight."

Iz wraps him in a hug and kisses his cheek. God he needed that. When he opens his eyes, he sees Alex looking at him, smiling. "I won't say I'm proud of you, but I kind of am." he laughs.

They all laugh soflty.

He still feels the need to explain something however. 

"Alex, I need you to know that I wasn't a bully because I didn't want to face who I was and who I could be attracted to. I had no idea back then, and the reason I was so terrible to you was because I was a dick, and a awful person, not because I was compensating for something." he rushes.

"I know." Alex tells him, giving him a small, loving smile. 

"I'm really happy you two know." Kyle breathes. Isobel won't leave his side. "We're really happy you told us." she whispers. It feels really nice to have her close. When she finally moves to the table, it's a little cold.

"So, not to rain on your parade,..."

"Pun intented." Kyle says with her. Alex just looks confused, again, but then he smiles, like he's figured out something only he knows. 

"But, we are here to work. Rosa and I have been calling every jeweler in the state, and we finally found something last night. The Peterson family, in Las Cruces, has been making jewelry for decades, and apparently they're specialized in rings. I emailed the daughter last night, Elaine, and she says she has seen this design before, but that she didn't sell the rings to a company."

"Okay, so what are they passing as?" Alex wonders. 

"She says it was bought by an Air Force soldier who had them sent to Texas. She doesn't have the address anymore, but Rosa and Jenna went to ask in person and look."

"Texas? But... I thought Deep Sky was operating out of Roswell." Kyle says. 

"My guess is they're based in Texas, and if they're really into killing aliens, there's really no better place than Roswell." Isobel answers. 

"What if they're working with the Air Force?" Alex thinks out loud. Isobel and Kyle are looking at him, waiting for the rest. 

"It's not unheard of that paramilitary companies work with the military. That would give them access to veterans, to weapons, to data, and to potential allies. Especially in Roswell."

"Wonderful." Kyle chuckles darkly. "If no weird transactions happen through the company, how do we look into their finances?"

"We're talking ex-military here, they record everything." 

"But?" Iz tries wearily. 

"But it's probably on paper, so we're gonna have to go to Texas to find out more."

"Not it!" Kyle and Isobel exclaim at the same time. 

"I knew I should have asked Rosa to help this morning." Alex sighs.

"Speak of the devil..." Rosa laughs as she comes down the stairs.

"Were you just waiting for us to say your name so you could make a dramatic entrance?" Kyle asks as they hug.

"Oh absolutely."

"How was road tripping with Jenna?" Isobel wonders.

"Well, she's a better driver than you." Isobel pretends to be offended. "And she's very, very good at investigating." Rosa smiles. 

"So you have news." Alex states anxiously.

"Have you ever heard of Tom Green County?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was hard to write, because I apparently only like plot if I can make jokes about it. The Alex and Maria scene took a lot out of me, but they really needed to talk, and I'm quite proud of how it ended up looking.  
> Don't hesitate to comment to let me know what you think, what parts you prefer, or what you'd like to see in upcoming chapters!  
> Next time, we celebrate a birthday!


	4. Two Evils

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You look exhausted."
> 
> "Yeah. I am exhausted."
> 
> Michael just nods. This is easier than on the phone, she can see he's supportive and will wait however long it takes her to say what she has to say. 
> 
> "I got one month. One month where I didn't think people were chasing us, and wanted Rosa and Maria, and you and Isobel. And Max.". She sighs. "I just wish we would get a break." She looks on the verge of tears and Michael rushes to her and wraps up in a hug.
> 
> "I'm fine, really.", she sniffles. "We'll figure it out and you'll all be safe. It's fine. We're fine.". She's clearly attempting to convince herself, wiping the tears on her cheeks and disentangling herself from him. He's still holding her however, not letting her go just yet. He needs this too. 
> 
> "I'm really glad I have you Mikey." she tells him in a small voice. 
> 
> "I'm really glad I have you too." he whispers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!
> 
> First, I want to thank you all for the comments and kudos, I feel like I am not writing into the void, and it's a pretty nice feeling!  
> This chapter's title comes from Bastille, a British band with a French name (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k9CuXZ4D0I)  
> The song featured in the chapter is by Oasis (also a Britsh band, it might be a theme), and it's honestly a really great song. If you want to listen to it while reading, here's a link! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkBYZdZ3RoI  
> Finally, quick summary: in this chapter, the plot makes big strides! We talk about Genroyx, celebrate a birthday, visit an evil clone, and find out more about Deep Sky!

He's seeing Paris now. At least he thinks it's Paris. Small paved streets, white buildings, gray roofs, people on café terraces.

He's been talking with Maria about it, but her visions are different. They're a warning of what's to come, a call from the universe that allows her to fix the world before it gets broken. He just sees landscapes. And streets now.

His reflections are interrupted when he sees Liz pull up into Sanders's lot. He's had two weeks to look into the pictures she gave him and he's still not sure what to do.

"Hmph." Liz drops herself on one of the chairs outside his Airstream. 

"Long drive?" 

"Yeah." Liz sighs. She looks exhausted. 

"You look exhausted."

"Yeah. I am exhausted."

Michael just nods. This is easier than on the phone, she can see he's supportive and will wait however long it takes her to say what she has to say. 

"I got one month. One month where I didn't think people were chasing us, and wanted Rosa and Maria, and you and Isobel. And Max.". She sighs. "I just wish we would get a break." She looks on the verge of tears and Michael rushes to her and wraps up in a hug.

"I'm fine, really.", she sniffles. "We'll figure it out and you'll all be safe. It's fine. We're fine.". She's clearly attempting to convince herself, wiping the tears on her cheeks and disentangling herself from him. He's still holding her however, not letting her go just yet. He needs this too. 

"I'm really glad I have you Mikey." she tells him in a small voice. 

"I'm really glad I have you too." he whispers. 

They sit in silence for a little while, not wanting to break their one moment of calm with thoughts of evil paramilitaries and their tech allies. They're interrupted by Liz's phone. 

"It's Alex. He and Jenna have a lead. Apparently the Air Force is building a new facility right outside of Goodfellow Airbase. In a land owned by Deep Sky."

"Something to keep aliens in or ?" Michael wonders. 

"They don't know yet." Liz replies. 

Michael gets up then, and goes to grab his latest project from his Airstream. As he comes back with a stack of papers, Liz looks just a little bit hopeful. 

"I've been trying to figure out what exactly Genoryx was doing with an alien kidney. I'm pretty sure they are trying to build either locks or detectors. Or both. Something that would allow them to find us and something that would allow them to keep us."

He pauses to show Liz his models. 

"I think there might be a way around it. My first idea was to find more of those magic yellow flowers and maybe figure out a way to reproduce them. I've been talking with Kyle, and if we stop producing the protein they're using to detect us, then we should be fine. I just don't really know how to transform a small flower into a never-ending supply. And Kyle doubts injecting ourselves with it constantly is a good idea, health-wise."

"Yeah, I think he might be right." 

"Exactly, but then I got a second idea.". He can hear his voice quicken, the excitement in it obvious. It's been a while since he's played with science. It's been a longer while since he's played with it sober. Sixteen days into Rosa's bet and he feels sharper than ever. His powers have been getting stronger too, the visions clearer.

"Alex let me take a look at the usual Genoryx security systems, and, while they seem hard to hack, they're pretty easy to dismantle. So we intercept them before they get sent to Texas and make sure they don't work the way they're supposed to."

He doesn't tell her that Isobel had to go with him that day, because he doesn't trust himself not to make a big romantic speech every time he sees him alone yet. He doesn't trust himself not to blurt out the things he'd promised himself he wouldn't say. 

"Alex also said there could probably be a way to track them through those things. Listen to them, figure out what they really want with us."

Liz sighs. "We would have to know precisely when they send them out."

"Alex and Jenna are working on it. Max wanted to go in but we agreed it was too risky."

"Yeah." she breathes. 

"Wouldn't want him to get distracted." he says with a wink. The atmosphere is too heavy, too dark, and he honestly can't take it anymore. He doesn't find solace wallowing in sadness and anger these days (maybe Iz and Alex's words are finally getting through to him).

She laughs sadly. They haven't talked about Max. He's not sure it's his place, and Liz is almost as good as him at avoiding the important things.

They sit in silence for a bit longer, a little more hopeful than when she first arrived and finding comfort in each other's presence and silent support. It's not proper healthy communication (a thing he discovered actually existed in one of Maria's books), but it's something. 

* * *

Isobel is sitting outside the Pony, smoking. She's wearing a reddish plaid shirt, blue jeans, and cowboy boots that look like they belong to Michael. Her hair flies free with the wind. 

"I thought you quit?" Alex asks as he comes down from his SUV and grabs his guitar from the backseat. 

"I did but your boyfriend is terrible for my health." she answers, drawing on her cigarette. Alex must have let some worry slip in his eyes, because she immediately follows: "No, I like him, and I like him for you, he's good and he seems to make you happy. He's just... a lot." she finally sighs. 

"It's the German thing isn't it?" 

"WHO STUDIES 1940s GERMAN NAZIS AND DOES NOT SPEAK GERMAN? WHO? I'm sorry, he's a good person, he's just very 'entitled white American male' sometimes. Like when he refuses to learn German." she says as she finishes her cigarette.

"Well, not everyone can be fluent in four languages."

She smiles. "We should go in, we were just waiting for you."

"How's the birthday girl?" Alex asks as he pushes the door. 

"Her usual spectacular self." Isobel says, pointing out the table where everyone is sitting. Rosa is wearing a black dress, worn-out boots and the red leather jacket she stole back from Liz is on her chair. Her knees are on the table, and she seems enraptured in what she's doing. Maria and Liz are looking at her fondly. Kyle is handing her pens. Even Max and Michael are here, talking in the corner of the table. They seem to have found some semblance of stability these past few weeks. He's glad. Michael deserves a family. 

"Of course you're drawing on the table. Why would 32-year old Rosa Ortecho be anymore respectful of tables in public spaces?" Alex asks as they approach. 

Rosa looks up, darts out her tongue before smiling at him. "Of course 29-year old Alex Manes is going to serenade me for my birthday.". She jumps from the table and wraps him into a hug. It has been almost a year, and a lot has happened, but he still feels so lucky to have gotten his big sister back.

"Speaking of, you are late, Alex." Maria says, but there's no heat in her voice. He's so glad he's got her back, too. Whatever complications their relationship has had, they found their way back to each other, and he's so thankful for that. 

Alex takes his guitar out of its case and walks to the stage, Maria in tow. He sits at the mic and Maria grabs an electric guitar. Jenna is already behind the drums and she gives him a big smile. He clears his throat. 

"Good evening everyone. Tonight I won't perform an original song, my friends and I are simply going to sing the greatest underrated song in British rock history." 

He can hear the table cheer and Maria laugh next to him.

Jenna counts "1, 2. 1, 2, 3, 4." and Maria starts. 

_When I was young  
_ _I thought I had my own key  
_ _I knew exactly  
_ _What I wanted to be  
_ _Now I'm sure_  
 _You've boarded up every door_

(he can hear Liz and Rosa sing-yell the lyrics already) 

_Lived in a bubble_   
_Days were never ending_   
_Was not concerned_   
_About what life was sending_   
_Fantasy was real_   
_Now I know much about the way I feel_

_I'll paint you the picture_   
_'Cause I don't think_   
_You live round here no more_   
_I've never even seen_   
_The key to the door_   
_We only get what we will settle for_

_While we're living_  
 _The dreams we have as children fade away_  
(Maria joins him)   
_While we're living_  
 _The dreams we have as children fade away_  
 _While we're living_  
 _The dreams we have as children fade away_  
 _While we're living_  
 _The dreams we have as children fade away away away_  
 _They fade away away away_

_Now my life has turned_   
_Another corner_   
_I think it's only best_   
_That I should warn you_   
_Dream it while you can_   
_Maybe someday I'll make you understand_

_I'll paint you the picture_   
_'Cause I don't think_   
_You live round here no more_   
_I've never even seen_   
_The key to the door_   
_We only get what we will settle for_

_While we're living_  
 _The dreams we have as children fade away_  
(he can hear the whole bar sing with them)   
_While we're living_  
 _The dreams we have as children fade away_  
 _While we're living_  
 _The dreams we have as children fade away_  
 _While we're living_  
 _The dreams we have as children fade away away away_

_They fade away away away_   
_They fade away away away_   
_Fade away away away_

Maria takes them away perfectly, and the song ends in a loud cheer. He can see Rosa is still jumping up and down, and Forrest is smiling at him from the bar. 

"Thank you Roswell, have a great night!"

Rosa and Liz are running towards him and bear-hug him as soon as they come down from the stage. "Toniiiiight you're a rock'n'roll star" Rosa sings in his ear.

They go back to the table and Alex walks to Forrest. 

"Hi."

"Hi." Forrest smiles. He could probably write a song about that smile. 

"So, rumor has it you're still refusing to learn German."

"Only because Isobel is offering herself as teacher."

Alex laughs and leans his head on Forrest's torso. He can hear his heart beating, a calming, comforting sound. As they part, he looks into his eyes. He looks as if he's been staring at him this whole time. 

"Hi."

"You've said that." Forrest jokes as he circles his arms around his neck. Their kiss is soft, loving, full of promises.

As they part, Alex swears he can see stars in Forrest's eyes. 

"So... You want to join us for cake?" Alex wonders. 

Forrest's answer is simple. He grabs his hand, guides him to the table where they sit between Kyle and Maria. They start counting, Rosa blows out her candles and they all cheer. He even catches Michael smiling at the scene.

Kyle elbows him and smiles at him blindingly. He can feel Forrest right next to him, and can't resist the urge to kiss his cheek. 

Life is good.

* * *

He's still not sure this is a good idea. Actually, he knows it's not a good idea, he's just not sure how bad of an idea it will end up being. Michael is out for the day, Isobel took him downtown because "there's no way I'm letting you woo back your man with a pair of jeans that looks like it's been worn every day for a century." Michael didn't even try to fight it, but Max doesn't know if it's for lack of strength or because he actually thinks that a new pair of jeans is the way to get Alex back.

When he arrives at the Airstream, Maria is waiting for him. She's wearing dark jeans, a black T-shirt, black boots, and her sunglasses make her look like the main character of an action film. 

"Afternoon cowboy." she tells him as he steps out of his car. 

"Hi." he replies. 

They walk in silence. Maria stops in front of the Airstream. 

"Are you sure you want to do this? I can go in alone, check if seeing him triggers any more visions, and come right back out. You don't have to do this." 

"I want to. I have to." Max states. He does have to. Make sure he's not that person. Make sure he's not the one killing all these people in Maria's visions, and enjoying it. Make sure he doesn't hurt Michelle. 

"Okay."

"Have you had any more visions since last night?" Max asks as they start moving Michael's Airstream.

_They were at the bar, working the end of a quiet shift. He was cleaning tables, Maria was wiping the counter for the hundredth time that day. She looked lost in her thoughts when she fell, suddenly. He rushed behind the bar and helped her get back up. It happened a few more times that night. She always saw different things, different moments. Michelle Valenti scared for her life, screaming at Max to stop. Two young men, screaming for their lives as their force was drained from them. An older woman, desperately trying to open Michael's bunker, the tattoo on her arm matching Max's perfectly._

"No. I put my bracelet back on for the night, I thought quiet sleep might not be such a bad idea." she tries to joke. 

It's her best defense mechanism, he's learnt.

_They had talked about it. They had decided to go to the bunker together, to try and understand what the universe had been telling Maria, to try and put a stop to it. They had also agreed to keep it a secret until they knew more, deciding that one evil threat was enough for their group to deal with right now._

They open the latch together, and look to each other for confidence before climbing down the ladder. Maria is the first one down, and she turns on the light. 

The bunker seems different from what he remembers. The table is pushed, Michael's work has been moved somewhere else, the giant lit pod is in the middle. He can't help but tense up when he sees the face inside. An exact replica of his.

Maria pulls two chairs and sits in front of the pod. She's brought silver jewelry as well and she puts it in a bowl. 

"I thought usually images were enough." Max notices. While this is not a great idea, he's pretty sure actually connecting with a guy is a very, very bad idea. 

"Usually. But in case it doesn't, I came prepared." she replies. 

Max sits, and they stay silent and focused. He doesn't know how much time passes, but he feels better seeing for himself that there is an evil guy, that looks just like him, but that is not him. He's not that guy. He's not perfect, but he's not that guy.

That's when Maria grabs his arm. 

"What is it?" he asks, worried. 

"There were countless of you. He was sitting on some kind of alien throne. And then Nora. I saw her grab a child. I need a pen and paper." she says, out of breath. 

As Max goes to grab it, he sees her wipe her nose. 

"You can't keep putting yourself though this, Maria." he tells her. 

She's drawing what looks like letters. 

"I can do whatever the hell I want, especially if it's to save people."

* * *

Rosa is starting to like that bunker. It has a lot of Kyle and Alex in it, as if they've claimed it back from their fathers. She's also been painting on the walls, it helps her think.

She's focusing on that right now, rather than on Isobel's pacing and Liz's lost eyes. Maria should be here any minute now. And they'll talk about whatever Jenna and Alex discovered. Jenna is the only calm one. She's reading the stack of papers she brought with her.

"Where on earth is she?" Isobel asks for the fourth time in ten minutes.

"She said she was on her way ten minutes ago, so that means she left about five minutes ago." Rosa states.

"She called emergency though. She should be the first here." Isobel replies.

"Maybe you should take up painting. It seems relaxing." Jenna said, not lifting her head up.

Isobel found nothing to respond to that besides rolling her eyes. She kept on pacing, Jenna kept on reading, Liz kept on thinking and Rosa kept on observing. Maria finally arrived, twenty minutes after her text (so right on time). 

"Finally." Isobel exclaims when she sees her. She seems more relieved than mad. 

Liz also finally seems to come back to reality, wrapping Maria in a hug. She came back this morning, and they haven't actually had time to talk yet. Michael texted her, told her she would probably need to talk to her sister at some point. Rosa knows Liz is here for two weeks, but it would be a good idea to get her to talk to her before that.

"So, what's the emergency?" Jenna wonders, finally raising her head.

"The aliens are speaking to us." Maria says, faking mystery.

She slumps down on a chair, and pulls out a piece of paper from her pocket. They all stay quiet and wait for Maria to explain.

"Last night I had a lot of visions, for the first time since... Of people dying, of Michelle Valenti screaming. Of a woman with Max and Michael's tattoo. So I decided to visit our dear friend Evil Clone to try and trigger more visions, because there's no way we're letting anyone else die. And I saw this."

She unwraps the paper on the table.

"It was written in the sand in front of a bunch of Max clones, one of them - who I'm guessing is the one we have - sitting on some kind of throne."

Rosa snorts at that.

"It sounds like the telenovela Kyle pretends he doesn't love." Isobel snickers. 

"Oh, believe me, I'm aware." Maria replies. "So my idea is to pass this through Alex's software, see what it means."

"Good. We'll take care of it in the morning then. In the meantime, Alex, Rosa and I found out a few more things about the Texans."

"I wanted to make a PowerPoint presentation but then Alex made a very convincing impression of Michael's speech against clouds and the NSA." Rosa tells them. Alex had in fact made a very convincing impression. Rosa even wondered if he wasn't the inspiration behind Michael's impassioned speech (she was pretty sure he rehearsed these).

Jenna gives her a small encouraging smile.

"So, Elaine told us the name of the Air Force guy who ordered the rings. He lives on Goodfellow Airbase and his name is... - Jenna makes a drum roll sound just like she promised - John Gibbons. And his brother is... - 'One drum roll is enough Rosa.' - Dustin Gibbons, Tom Green County Sheriff!"

Silence follows her. 

"I feel like I didn't explain it right." Rosa sighs. Why are they not reacting to the biggest clue they have found?

"Wait, like Old man Gibbons, Gibbons?" Isobel wonders.

"Yes!" Rosa exclaims.

"So Alex was right. Deep Sky is linked to Roswell." Liz says, matter-of-factly. 

"Actually, not just Roswell. Old man Gibbons was Captain Emerson Gibbons, US Air Force." Jenna adds. 

"Aka co-founder of Project Shepherd with his bestie, Harlan Manes." Rosa finishes.

"Fuck." Liz whispers. 

"Not fuck. We know something. For the first time in forever, we know something. It's not necessarily a good something but it's something!" Rosa tries to be positive. This is the closest they've been to understanding who Deep Sky was and why they existed. Liz has to understand that. 

"Fuck!" Liz shouts, smiling at her sister. 

"Now, that's more like it." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading until the end!  
> A few notes on this chapter:  
> \- the choice of song comes from my headcanon that Rosa was the biggest Oasis fan back in the day, and from the fact that the band has been featured a few times on the show already (which only reinforces my headcanon)  
> \- I'm also pretty sure that as a bored housewife, Isobel tried to take up anything she could, including languages. I think she learnt French before visiting Paris, Spanish for obvious reasons (she would never confuse embarrassed and pregnant. NEVER), and Greek because she felt like it. She's recently taken up Danish watching Borgen (it's a great show, you should watch it)  
> \- I also tried a few things this chapter, like inserting flashbacks in scenes. I'm not too disappointed but also not fully convinced, let me know what you think!
> 
> As always, don't hesitate to comment and leave kudos! Next week, I'm hoping to get two chapters. Greg will return and there will be some much needed communication!


	5. The Scientist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're all in her father's diner. It's almost six in the morning, because apparently that is the best time to plan a heist against an evil paramilitary company. It was four in the morning when they had started what was supposed to be a short catch-up meeting. It did not work out.
> 
> "We can't just let you go risk your lives and stay back here, doing nothing!"
> 
> "And you can't exactly go and follow alien detectors without risking your own! This is a safe plan. It's a smart plan."
> 
> "Or you're going to get caught, and we won't be able to do anything." Isobel is interrupting Alex and Michael's shouting match, making it obvious whose side she's on. They had all been scream-talking earlier, but that was twenty minutes ago. Since then, they had been mere audience to the Alex and Michael show.
> 
> "I think what Isobel means to say is that we should have a back up. Or we should be able to follow you. Be the Hardison to your Eliot and Parker." Kyle adds. Rosa high-fives him. 
> 
> "We do have back-up. His name is Greg." Alex says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I can't believe this is already Chapter 5! This feels crazy! Thank you to all who leave comments and kudos, you really motivate me to write!  
> Title is from Coldplay: https://youtube.com/watch?v=RB-RcX5DS5A  
> This is a Liz-heavy chapter! (also, as you will see, we pick up with Rosa's point of view again, but I really really like her, and that's enough of a reason why)  
> A good time with Maria and Rosa, a much-needed talk with Max, an interlude with Alex and Michael, and a final heist planning scene!  
> I tried to balance plot and character interactions, I hope you like it!

They take Maria home with them. Last time Liz was in Roswell they hadn't really had time to be just the three of them. Just like when they were kids. Liz had called Alex, asked him if he wanted to come up to the roof with them to eat fries dipped in milkshakes, but he had a date (again! With the pretty blue haired boy!). He'd told Liz he could reschedule, but she had insisted. He got to be happy, and go on his date, and they'd have fries before she left. He made her promise.

So, that's where they are. The Crashdown roof, with fries and milkshakes. Talking about everything and nothing. 

"So yeah, rehab was good, but I hope I never have to live with people who aren't people I love again." Rosa finally says. They have been talking about her last month of rehab, and how good it had been for her, and how much more of herself she felt. About the meetings she's been going to. About Kyle becoming the best brother on the face of the Earth. 

"Yeah, Mimi has the same problem. She's been campaigning to allow home residents to choose their roommates." Maria chuckles. 

"So, she's better then?" Liz wonders. 

"Better than in a long time. She still has her moments, but there haven't been any visions in a while, and I think that's why she's been more lucid, more herself."

"You think she'll get the same ones as you?" 

"She's got her necklace, so I try to be rational, but my visions were really strong this time, so I'm really not sure."

"We should go visit her sometime soon! Bring Alex with us, make a road trip out of it." Rosa suggests. 

Maria and Liz both nod and smile at that. A promise in their language. 

There is a comfortable silence. She's missed this. 

"So you and Max are like, friends, now?" Rosa asks. She has many questions about who Maria brought along to her latest vision-induced investigation.

"I wouldn't say friends. I just don't dislike him as much as I used to." she tells her with a wink. Rosa laughs. 

"I think I miss him." Liz sighs after a beat. "I'm really mad at him, and disappointed, and hurt, and if I ever forgive him, it will take a lot, but I miss him. I miss not being angry that I love him."

She hugs her sister. It's sideways, but she hopes she can feel all the love she's sending her. She deserves to feel love and not just anger and sadness.

"It's ridiculous, really." Liz chuckles. "He destroyed my work, he lied to me about his memories, about what he wanted. He kept so much from me, including who he was." she says.

Maria looks to her, confused.

"Not that he was an alien or anything. Just, who he was as a person. I only saw parts of him. The parts that want to know his history, his family, the parts that feel a connection to another planet, I never got to see those. He didn't want me to see them." She breathes.

Maria and Rosa look at her pointedly. Kyle insists there's no such thing as alien protein-induced telepathy, but Rosa begs to differ (although it was there before, so maybe he's right? She won't give him the satisfaction though.). 

"You should probably tell him that." Rosa finally whispers, for the both of them. 

They move on to other, less important things, in the grand scheme of things. What they thought of the Schitt's Creek finale. A scheme to bring Oasis back together. Old memories of their youthful karaoke nights. It's almost sunup when Liz finally decides to get up. 

"We have a shift." she tells Rosa with a smile. This one seems real, not just made to reassure her (progress, right?). 

"And I have a bed waiting for me. With a mattress and pillows and nice covers." Maria yawns, standing from where she had been laying on Rosa. 

They climb down the stairs to the diner. Maria gives them a big hug as goodbye. 

"I love you Ortechos." she says in their ears. 

"Love you too." they reply in unison, like they used to. 

* * *

Liz asked to meet him in the desert tonight. Their spot.

He's nervous, really nervous. He's still mad at her, but he also really can't wait to finally talk to her. He hasn't seen her since their fight, almost two months ago. Well, he has seen her, but he's only said 'hi' to her directly, and that was more out of politeness than anything else.

He shows up fifteen minutes early. She arrives two minutes after him.

They stand awkwardly in the sand, facing each other, hands in their pockets. Max feels stupid and ridiculous. 

"Hi." he finally says. Even that sounds ridiculous. 

"Hi." she replies. 

"So, I asked you to meet me because..." 

"I'm really glad you texted, I think..." 

"You go first."

"No, no, you do, I have a lot to say." Liz tells him. 

"Me too." He whispers, giving her a sign to go ahead. He hopes she takes it. 

"Okay, well maybe we should sit." 

They find a spot on the sand and fall silent for a few minutes.

"I don't know where to start, I should have prepared this."

"You prepare your fights." Max says. It's not a question, he knows she does. She outlines her arguments, foresees rebuttals and tries to find an answer to everything.

"I don't want to fight you Max." She finally looks towards him, before looking back at the sand. "I'm too tired to fight. I just want to understand."

"Understand?"

"Understand why you thought that destroying my work, the science that makes me who I am and allows me to grow and learn and thrive, was the best way out of this." He wants to answer right now, tell her how much she hurt him, but he knows this has been a long time coming. There are more things she needs to say. "Understand why you refused to tell me that you wanted to know more about your past, about your family, about the parts of you that aren't on this Earth. Understand why you lied to me and pretended to be someone you weren't. Understand why you made it impossible for me to love you without feeling like this." She sniffles. He wants to reach out, but stops himself. "I'm angry, and I'm hurt, and I'm sad, and I'm disappointed and mad at myself and I hate it. I hate that you make me feel like this."

"You were always worried about my heart. Always. And I felt like I needed something that was mine." She looks hurt, but he needs her to understand that he needs space too, even if he is using her words. "You brought me back from the dead, Liz. You fought to bring me back and then all I had to do was to stay alive. And to do that, I had to stop so much of what makes me me. I could only read and write. I couldn't work, I couldn't go out without you looking at me like I was going to die again. And I couldn't take it. I started taking the antidote because I thought it would make me better, but it just brought back memories. Memories I had no idea I had, memories that made me discover parts of me that were just mine. You've been my whole life Liz, ever since I met you."

"So what, you thought I was going to take that away too? Like I took the rest of your life?"

"You didn't. It's not something you did, Liz. It just happened. I dedicated myself to you, and I think I lost myself in there too. It's like you said before you left."

"And that's why you blew up my lab? Cause you realized that and you thought that would definitely drive me away?" 

"I didn't think about you when I blew up your lab Liz."

"You destroyed my work but it wasn't because of me?" she snorts. He hasn't seen her since angry since she found out how Rosa died. Normally, he would take some time to deal with that, but he has things he needs to say too.

"Your work put my family in danger Liz." he says, standing up. "Your work was a violation of our trust. Your work jeopardized your sister and Maria. Your work wasn't science Liz. It was madness."

"Right. I found a way to save lives but it was in an underground illegal lab, so it's bad." She's standing up too now. 

"You really don't get it, do you? Liz, you used our DNA without asking. You put our lives on the line so you could play scientist in your lab. You and I both know no scientific institution would ever accept your work as it was."

"Exactly! I wasn't putting anyone in danger!" 

"You were! The second you told Diego anything, you were! You were too happy to have discovered something, that you didn't even think of us! You never thought of any of us, this whole time you were in the lab! I told you I didn't want to be a science experiment, and the second you bring me back, you go right back to experimenting!" 

"I am a scientist Max! And I found a way to save lives!" 

"Your intentions don't matter. You broke our trust and ignored our refusal to become experiments. I believe you when you say you wanted to save lives. But you can't do that by destroying ours." He's stopped shouting. All the anger's gone by now, only pain remains. "I blew up your lab to save us. And I'm not sorry for that. I'm sorry for lying to you about my memories and the antidote. I'm sorry that you didn't listen when we repeatedly told you to stop. I couldn't find another way."

"You couldn't trust me to stop if you'd asked me." Liz sighs. The anger seems gone from her eyes too, like what he's saying has finally dawned on her. She starts walking to her car but turns around to him. "I'm sorry, Max. I am a scientist and I worked on the science while ignoring everything else. I'm sorry that I broke your trust."

"Okay."

"I still need space. And time."

"Me too." he sighs. There's more he needs to hear. 

"Okay. I'll see you around then.". She tries to smile as she climbs in her car, but it doesn't reach her eyes.

* * *

"So does this mean I can't recite poetry because you'll hear it?"

"You can recite poetry, but I will hear it." Alex replies. "You can also keep on rehearsing your speeches, that way I can give you some notes." 

"My speeches don't need notes."

"Maybe they need more rehearsing then."

Michael attempts his best vexed face, and Alex only laughs at him. 

"No, but seriously, this is just a test. I stay here, and you drive to your place with the receptor and speak." 

"As soon as I figure out a way to put the receptors into these fucking detectors." 

"Well, they're definitely an upgrade from the ones you practiced on, but you should be able to find a way." Alex is smiling at him encouragingly. He hasn't seen that particular supporting kind smile in the while. He's missed that smile (he misses all of Alex's smiles, but he thinks it's better to just notice them when they happen rather than keep a list of all the Alex smiles he is missing) (he still has a list though). 

"Anyway, I'm glad we can be doing this." 

"Me too."

"I just." Alex looks like he's about to say something important. Something Michael definitely shouldn't be missing because Alex's hair is growing again, and it looks perfect and he wants to put his hands in it and kiss him and... "I really hope that we can go back to being friends." Michael must look confused at that. Or hurt. Or both. He's never been very good at hiding his immediate emotions from Alex.

"I mean. Last year, when we worked together and really got to know each other, it felt like we were becoming friends, and then. I just. I missed you, I guess." Alex sighs. He looks unsure of himself. Michael hates that look (he also has a list for those). 

"I missed you too." he tells him. He did. There's a lot more he wants to say, but he finally feels strong enough not to blurt it out until Alex is ready. 

Alex smiles at him softly, happily. A different soft, happy smile. He missed soft, happy Alex. 

"Any notes on my speech?" 

"'Never." Michael replies, before turning back to the detector. 

* * *

They're all in her father's diner. It's almost six in the morning, because apparently that is the best time to plan a heist against an evil paramilitary company. It was four in the morning when they had started what was supposed to be a short catch-up meeting. It did not work out.

"We can't just let you go risk your lives and stay back here, doing nothing!"

"And you can't exactly go and follow alien detectors without risking your own! This is a safe plan. It's a smart plan."

"Or you're going to get caught, and we won't be able to do anything." Isobel is interrupting Alex and Michael's shouting match, making it obvious whose side she's on. They had all been scream-talking earlier, but that was twenty minutes ago. Since then, they had been mere audience to the Alex and Michael show.

"I think what Isobel means to say is that we should have a back up. Or we should be able to follow you. Be the Hardison to your Eliot and Parker." Kyle adds. Rosa high-fives him. 

"We do have back-up. His name is Greg." Alex says. He seems calmer, but still ready for a fight. 

"What my little brother is trying to explain is that I'll be following them closely. They'll also take trackers with them, that will serve as microphones, and earpieces. We'll be with them every step of the way." Greg tells them in a calming voice - which he probably should have used from the start, she could have gone back to bed -. Bed would mean reading up on ethics and questioning all of her scientific work, but still, pillows. 

"Why didn't you just tell us that?" Michael asks Alex in a soft tone. 

"You wouldn't let me finish." Alex chuckles. 

"Wow, what a wonderful moment of communication. That should probably be an inspiration to all of us." Maria says mockingly. 

"So to recap, in a month, a special convoy is taking the detectors from California to Texas." Max starts. 

"Alex, Liz and I will intercept the convoy citing a matter of national security, and grab the detectors." Jenna continues. She feels like she's in a heist movie. 

"So I have to teach you how to dismantle them and set up the microphones?" 

"Yes, Mikey. But you'll also be in our heads the whole time." Liz winks at him. 

Alex laughs. "Once that's done, we'll send the convoy back on their way with the new detectors."

"Easy peasy." Rosa states. "Now, not that I want to kick you out, but we are opening in seven minutes, and the giant boards on alien-chasing paramilitaries are a little too real."

They clean up and put everything back the way it was. They go on to their lives, Rosa starts the coffee, and Alex stays back. 

"I'm off today. Greg said he needed a nap before he could do anything though, so I figured we could have breakfast."

She hugs him tightly. She's missed him. 

"So, fries?" Alex asks. 

"And coffee."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading until the end! YAY, communication happened! It's not the end of the tunnel, but they are making progress! They're talking to each other, they're starting to acknowledge their faults and their feelings, they're relying on friends and family for support and advice! (I'm so proud)  
> As usual, don't hesitate to leave comments or kudos, and let me know what you liked!  
> Next time, a lot less plot! :)


	6. You're So Great

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "IT'S NOT MY PROBLEM 
> 
> WOO-HOO WHEN I FEEL HEAVY METAL
> 
> WOO-HOO AND I'M PINS AND I'M NEEDLES 
> 
> WOO-HOO WELL, I LIE AND I'M EASY 
> 
> ALL OF THE TIME BUT I'M NEVER SURE WHY I NEED YOU
> 
> PLEASED TO MEET"
> 
> He stops abruptly and turns off the music.
> 
> "Iz."
> 
> "So you're into 90s Britpop now?" 
> 
> "You do not know what Britpop is."
> 
> "Rosa is teaching me a lot."
> 
> "Well, Rosa got me that CD. And her old CD player. So."
> 
> Isobel has been laughing gently the whole time, and she can't help the look she gives him. A nod, pursed lips and eyes that say "Suuure.".
> 
> "I made a bet with her that I wouldn't drink for a month, and I won, so that's my gift. It's a pretty great record actually."
> 
> "Not depressing country level good, though."
> 
> "Well, what is?" Michael says as he finally settles in one of his chairs, offering her a beer. She takes it happily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 6 already! Thank you for all the kudos since last chapter, it was wonderful to see so many of you enjoy my writing! <3  
> Title is from Blur: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib_yMetb4yg
> 
> This one is a bit longer than the previous chapters, and it also took me a while to write. I'm very excited about Chapter 7 and the upcoming plot, so it sometimes felt a bit like a filler chapter, even though it sets up some pretty important dynamics for the rest of the story.  
> Anyways, onto the summary: Alex and Greg visit the Wild Pony, Kyle and Isobel watch Emma, Alex and Forrest have a talk, Rosa is her usual spectacular self, and our pod squad spends a nice Saturday night together. I hope you like it!

_**Monday**_

Alex arrives with Greg around 10. They both look physically exhausted, like they've run a marathon, but there is a smile in their eyes that tells her it's been a good day. 

"Beer?" she asks as they settle at the bar. 

"Yes. God, yes. Why did we think it was a good idea to go shopping in the middle of June?" Greg laments. 

"Well, because leather is cheaper in summer." Alex states.

Maria gives them their beers. 

"So, did you get another black leather jacket?"

"Actually, he didn't, because he wanted your opinion. I now have about 200 pictures of Alex in various leather jackets that all look the same to me." Greg replies, handing her his phone. 

"They do not all look the same." Alex says as Maria starts going through the pictures. Greg is not completely wrong, they all look very alike. If she's being honest, she's more focused on Alex's smile than on the jackets he's wearing. Until. Chest pockets, few zippers, perfect lapels. Alex looking carefree, young and happy. She's showing them a picture of Alex laughing, wearing a jacket that looks a lot like the one he used all spring. 

"That one."

"Me too, actually." Greg says, smiling at Alex.

"Me three. I don't like big changes."

"No way." Maria says mockingly. 

Alex makes a face at her and Greg laughs, all the way to his eyes. 

"You are terrible people." Alex finally complains, as he lifts up his beer.

"But you looooooove us." Maria tells him, ruffling his hair as she moves past him to take care of other customers. 

When she comes back, Alex's beer is empty and Greg is alone. 

"Did we drive him away?" Maria wonders as she comes back behind the bar. 

"Rosa called demanding he come see her latest project." And then: "You know he forgave you, right? And banter was always a big part of your friendship." Greg tells her in a kind voice. "You don't need to walk on eggshells around him."

Maria sighs. "I know. I know that."

She looks into his eyes. He seems genuinely interested and curious to hear more.

"He's such a kind soul, you know.", she starts. He nods, chuckling a bit. "I don't know, I guess it would take a bit longer for me to get to forgiveness."

"It would take more than an honest apology and real regrets for you to forgive Alex?" Greg wonders. 

Her response is immediate. "No, definitely not."

He smiles at her. 

"So, not that I don't love talking about my brother," 

"But you'd rather talk about his boyfriend." Maria finishes. 

His look is puzzled.

"No bracelet today." she says, shaking her wrist. 

"Right." He laughs. "I think it's getting serious and I'm pretty sure Alex is not going to want to lie to him much longer."

"You really think it's that serious?" 

"Yeah, don't you?" 

"I don't know, maybe it's because I see Michael a lot around here, or because he and Alex have been spending more time together lately, on purpose, but I thought that that was fizzling out." 

"Uh. Alex seems so happy though."

"I think you can be happy in a relationship that's not meant to last forever."

Greg seems to ponder that last sentence. 

"So you don't think he should tell him."

"I think he'll tell you that it is not his secret to tell." Greg gives her a small nod. "But as a person who was lied to most of their life, I also think Forrest deserves to know. How'd you take it?" 

"I had an idea that something weird was going on. And then you visited and I did some digging. I wasn't sure about aliens yet, but it wasn't that big of a reveal. It's also different because I only have my brother here." 

"Yeah." Maria sighs. She's talked with Liz, at length, about how hurt she was to have been kept in the dark for so long. About how hard it already is to be a person that looks like her in this town, the impossibility to truly trust anyone. She forgave them quickly because she knows that some truths are hard to say, but the sting of being lied to is still there sometimes. 

"So you think he should tell him?" 

"I get why Alex would consider it. Especially if he wants him to stick around."

"But you don't think he does."

"I don't know that he thinks of forever with him."

Greg sighs. 

"Don't you miss when life was simple?" 

"You mean when the biggest question in my life was 'Why did Gregory Manes ask Daniella Reed to the prom when he has a gigantic crush on Isobel Evans?'. " 

"Had. I HAD a crush." His face reddens as he speaks, and for a short moment, he looks younger. Like the teenager he used to be. 

"You called her a legend to her face three months ago."

"Well, she is. She's also terrifying and way too into meddling." Maria would have to look into that later. Isobel had been trying to convince her to get Alex and Michael back together, but she had no idea she had gotten to Greg too. 

"So, why'd you ask Daniella?" 

"Daniella was nice and fun, and not terrifying. Why did you ask Chad Coleman?" 

"I didn't ask." Maria says with a wink. She doesn't elaborate on the crush the size of a galaxy she had on her best friend's older brother because she refuses to be any more of a cliché. 

"See, simple." Greg laughs.

They laugh some more, reminisce, talk about Maria's plans for the bar, about the incredible 9-year-olds Greg gets to see grow everyday. Alex comes back an hour after leaving with a streak of red paint on his left cheek. 

"If Rosa asks you to come check out her art, cover yourself first." 

"Aye aye captain."

Both Greg and Alex laugh at that. It's not a good joke, she's made better jokes, and it warms her heart that they laugh anyway. They stand and Maria comes in front of the counter. 

"I love you." Alex tells her when they hug. She can only say the same. 

Greg stands dumbfounded. He doesn't seem to know how to handle goodbye. So Maria wraps him in a hug. He's family. 

"You can come back any time by the way. This is your bar too." She hopes he takes her up on her offer. She could use a non-dramatic friend. 

"And you're not meddling. You're looking for advice because you hope your little brother will come to you for help." she whispers.

* * *

_**Tuesday** _

She's waiting for him at the end of his shift, as promised. She looks beautiful, wearing a loose simple white summer dress that fits her perfectly. Her hair is loose, free in the wind and she's looking up to the stars.

"You seem thoughtful." Kyle tells her as he walks up to her.

She just laughs and smiles at him. She's been doing that more lately. A soft smile, the one she usually reserves to people she cares about. He likes to believe that he's become one of those people.

"Just thinking about you." Isobel replies, in a flirting voice. Friends flirt, right?

"Wow, you really are obsessed with me."

"Well you did promise to buy me drinks at Planet 7 tonight."

Kyle isn't sure he can hold up his promise tonight. A 12-hour shift in the ER with two elderly patients who had forgotten where they lived, a car accident that resulted in a 5-hour surgery, plus a few stomach flus, a man who had burned his hand on the stove and his Tuesday regulars had worn him out. 

"Or you could just pay for takeout." she adds. "Long shift?"

"Yeah, it was a Tuesday." he sighs. He knows he doesn't need to say more, he's complained enough about his weekly visitors. "Also, yes to takeout, but my back needs your couch."

She looks at him incredulously.

"Last time I bought you food you made us stay up all night to catch up on Poldark. And my couch is awful."

"Well it is better than Outlander."

"It's not."

"It is."

"There's no Scottish accent, so it's not."

"Demelza's beauty is out of this world and there's a pretty boy with dark hair, so it is." she winks at him, grabs him by the arm and takes him to her car.

"How am I supposed to get to work tomorrow?" he asks, getting in the passenger's seat. He doesn't really care about the answer, or at least he's trying to tell himself that he doesn't. He probably shouldn't anyway.

"I'll take you." she states. He probably shouldn't feel this happy about the answer either. They've spent nights together before. When one of them was too tired to go home, so he would sleep on the couch and they would have a nice breakfast in the morning. He is not thinking about the old college T-shirt she stole from him last time, he is better than this.

She drives them to her house while he orders.

They fight on what to watch for a bit before settling on the latest adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma (Isobel convinces him by promising they'll watch Clueless after). They eat while watching, laugh at both films, and settle into each other while the end credits are rolling. 

"Iz, I think this is the first good film you've made me watch. The guy actually had a personality!" 

"Mr Knightley always has personality."

"True. He's like if Greg was British."

"You really have a crush on him, then?". She sounds surprised. 

"Who doesn't?" He doesn't. Not really. He's pretty and nice but he's not. Well he doesn't really know the guy, is all. "Why, you feel threatened?" 

"Me? No. No, no. No, no, no."

"You sound like you feel threatened." 

Isobel scoffs. 

Kyle ponders what to say next. Should he just come right out and say it? Or should he keep up the banter? 

"Well, you shouldn't. He's got nothing on you." He settles for an in-between. 

Isobel raises her head and looks into his eyes. She looks surprised and he's pretty sure he sees a smile, before she moves back and settles on his shoulder. 

"You're cute."

"I know."

"We should go to bed."

"We should."

They lay there for a while longer. Kyle can feel himself falling asleep. He feels safe, content here.

When he wakes up in the morning, he is completely lying on the couch, a cover on him and a pillow under his head. Isobel offers him coffee ("Your tastebuds deserve excellence.") and takes him to work, as promised.

He might walk to his locker with a lighter step. It's going to be a good Wednesday.

* * *

_**Thursday** _

He had bought the leather jacket. It is now sitting in its closet next to his other leather jacket. Greg had laughed at his organisation, calling it the 'epitome of his type-A personality'. Alex had laughed right back, protesting that at least he wasn't taking organisation advice from 9-year-olds like a certain someone. This had devolved into a ridiculous food fight, the kind he'd never had as a kid but always saw with Liz and Rosa. He finally had a brother. One who could stay and be kind, one he could care for without constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Alex is still staring at his jacket when the bell rings. Coming towards the door, he notices Forrest's car parked in the driveway. It's surprising as their date is only tomorrow night. They're going to Santa Fe for the weekend. They have big plans to visit a music bar; to go to the Museum; to eat, a lot; to kiss, even more. They're also very excited about the perspective of their hotel room. 

"What are you doing here?" Alex wonders as he opens the door. He asks with a smile though, making sure Forrest knows he is happy to see him. 

"Hi." Forrest simply answers. He looks wary. Alex hopes it's not because he was unwelcoming. 

"Hi. Come on in!" Alex tells him as he opens the door wide enough to let him through. 

"Thanks." Forrest whispers as he goes directly to sit on the couch. Alex likes how comfortable they've gotten with each other's spaces. Even if Forrest is being awfully silent. 

"Is everything okay?" 

"Uh. Yeah. It's really okay, I just."

Alex sits near him and takes his hand. 

"I'm here." he tells him softly. And he is. Even if he still has to figure out how much of him is here. 

_"He will have to know eventually. I'm just not sure I should be the one to tell him. It's not my story to tell." Alex said._

_Greg scoffed and shook his head. "Maria said you'd tell me that."_

_"You talked to Maria?"_

_"I needed advice. And she was the last one to find out, so I thought she would be the best to ask."_

_Alex raised his eyebrows._

_"It's your choice to tell him or not. And if you want him to know, it's your choice how he knows. But you need to be sure."_

_"Maria doesn't think he's sticking around, does she?"_

_Greg searched for his words, looking for a way to soften the blow. But Alex spoke up before he could._

_"Don't worry, I know she's supportive. She's just always believed in true love."_

_She hasn't brought it up. She's tried subtle hints about Michael, but he knows her too well. The hints aren't subtle to him. And he can't help but think she's not completely wrong. Even if there's no such thing as true love, they never really finished what they started. They barely even started._

_"I'll support you whatever you do Alex." Greg had finally told him._

"You know, I applied to all these fellowships back in winter to fund my thesis." Alex nods while Forrest continues. "The University of Oklahoma has accepted me as a predoctoral fellow for two years. I'd be working with historians there."

He's been very calm during his whole explanation. 

"Wow. That's, that's really great Forrest, congratulations." Alex replies with a small smile. 

"I think it means that we need to think about what this means for us." Forrest says, looking into his eyes. 

Alex takes a deep breath at that and kisses Forrest soflty.

"Yeah, I think it does." Alex answers as he moves away, still holding his hand. 

"It can wait until tomorrow though." Forrest sighs, leaning into his shoulder.

"Or the day after that." Alex says into his hair, smiling.

Maybe Forrest isn't his forever, but right now, he really makes him happy.

* * *

**_Friday_ **

The road is empty. She has been driving for only a few minutes, but the freedom of being alone in her car on an empty road is giving her the energy she needs.

She had dropped Michael his gift, as promised. A little musical education didn't seem like such a bad idea, and she couldn't think of a better person to take care of her old CD player.

She has time to sing out three more songs before pulling up behind the diner. Liz's car isn't here yet, which means she has a bit more time to clear her bed of all her art supplies. She's only been gone less than a week, and she'll be here for two whole weeks, but Rosa is incredibly excited to see her. And to show her her work.

She comes into the diner, and directly goes to the kitchen to give her dad a kiss. It's his birthday and she and Liz have pretty big plans. They're going to have a wonderful family dinner (Rosa's cooking) and Alex and Maria are stopping by for cake and presents.

"Happy birthday dad!" she tells him, after checking that the kitchen is empty. 

"Gracias mija. You know this is the tenth time today that you're wishing me my birthday. You're starting to make me feel old."

She gives him another kiss on the cheek before making her way into the diner to grab coffee.

"Hey! Your dad mentioned you were out, but I'm glad we caught you before we left!" Jenna tells her as she approaches the counter. She thinks they're almost at the friend stage now. Roadtripping and chasing bad guys together will do that. 

"Hi! Good to see you too!"

"Charlie and I are going to Colorado for the weekend, to visit some trees and some mountains."

"She insists that I need to see something besides the desert." Charlie says from behind Jenna. She hadn't noticed her, which honestly makes little sense because she always notices her. Rosa gives Charlie a big smile to make up for it. 

"She's not wrong. The desert is nice but trees are kind of great." Rosa says, still smiling. 

"If you need anything, I'm just one phone call away, okay?" Jenna tells her, squeezing her hand. 

"Don't worry, we'll stay safe." she replies with a wink. "But thank you."

Charlie and Jenna wave goodbye as they leave the diner, and she can hear Jenna honking while passing the diner a few minutes later. 

After her coffee, she goes upstairs to clean up their room and give final touches to her wall. 

"I leave for less than a week and you turn our room into a gallery." Liz says as she comes in. 

Rosa just gives her a blinding, mischievous smile. 

"I love it." Liz adds, giving her a big kiss. "There's a lot less red than I expected from Alex's texts though."

"Kyle's spare bedroom is very red."

Liz gives a small laugh. "I really love it."

"I'm not fully done yet." she says, taking a step back to get a better look at the wall. The mural is full of small details, it shows the faces of her sister, their father, their grandmother. Her own face too, in the bottom left corner. It is also full of vibrant colors, representing the desert, their diner, everything that makes her home home.

"Do you think Dad will like it?" 

"I think he'll love it." Liz replies, wrapping her in a hug from behind. 

* * *

**_Saturday_ **

Isobel is having a bad Saturday. Kyle and Rosa are working, and her brothers have been busy all day. So she's been reading, researching and organizing all day. She ended her day reading research on sheriffs, which was not a good idea. She now feels even more helpless than she did this morning. 

So when Michael offered a family beer at the Airstream, she all but jumped into her car.

It's nearing nine in the evening, and the sun is setting beautifully on the desert. The temperature is finally falling and she can feel some wind (or maybe she's imagining it. A broken AC will make you crave any form of ventilation).

When she arrives, she can hear Michael sing, loudly, on top of what she thinks is a Blur song.

"IT'S NOT MY PROBLEM 

WOO-HOO WHEN I FEEL HEAVY METAL

WOO-HOO AND I'M PINS AND I'M NEEDLES 

WOO-HOO WELL, I LIE AND I'M EASY 

ALL OF THE TIME BUT I'M NEVER SURE WHY I NEED YOU

PLEASED TO MEET"

He stops abruptly and turns off the music.

"Iz."

"So you're into 90s Britpop now?" 

"You do not know what Britpop is."

"Rosa is teaching me a lot."

"Well, Rosa got me that CD. And her old CD player. So."

Isobel has been laughing gently the whole time, and she can't help the look she gives him. A nod, pursed lips and eyes that say "Suuure.".

"I made a bet with her that I wouldn't drink for a month, and I won, so that's my gift. It's a pretty great record actually."

"Not depressing country level good, though."

"Well, what is?" Michael says as he finally settles in one of his chairs, offering her a beer. She takes it happily. 

"So, how was your day?" 

"I got up, I worked, I texted you, and now I'm drinking beer."

"To celebrate winning a bet about not drinking beer?" 

"Yes. Alex is in Santa Fe right now, being happy. And I'm happy for him, really. And then I keep getting all these images of Washington DC in my head, so I get at least one beer." he replies in a sarcastic tone. 

"And you also get to sing very loudly."

"It makes it quiet." He says softly, all jokes gone from his voice. "How was your day?" 

"I have no AC and my research was depressing." she states simply. 

"Been there."

"There's just so much to do, and I don't know where to start, or even if anything can be done."

"But?"

"But I spent four years in college studying political science and communication and have repeatedly convinced conservative idiots to push for social reforms, so maybe I could actually get something done. I just. There are so many people out there who have ideas, and a platform, and they should run, and I probably shouldn't run instead of them."

"No, but you can make them win." Max says from behind them. She hasn't heard him arrive and gives him a big smile when she turns to him. He sits on the chair next to him and grabs the beer Michael is handing him. 

"Did you at least have a good day Maximilian?" 

"Not my name."

"Well, did you?" Isobel asks this time. 

"I don't know if good is the right word. Kyle's been helping Maria with the signs she saw and I tried to give a hand today."

"Did you find anything?"

"Well, yeah. That's why I'm not sure good is the right word. What Maria saw roughly translates to "God will rule over all people.", which doesn't seem like a really democratic approach to governing."

"Evil Clone didn't seem that into non-violent democracy the little that we saw him." Michael says. "Sorry." he adds, when he sees the sad look on Max's face. 

"I know you were hoping that he would turn out to be a good guy, but I think we need to be ready for anything, Max." Isobel starts. "Until we have the time to really deal with it, Maria's visions and your memories are all we have, so we'll keep digging. And one day you'll get to ask him all the questions you want." She puts a hand on his arm, and squeezes tight. 

"Thanks guys." Max replies. His smile is genuine. 

"So, should we talk about less stressful stuff?" Michael asks, leaning back into his chair. 

"Sure. How's Operation Seducing Alex Manes going?" Isobel wonders. She has a lot of questions about that.

"There is no Operation... Did you try and get someone to meddle with you again? Maria told me you were sending her weekly progress reports. Or rather, she complained that you were."

"Gregory Manes was not receptive. So I let him be."

Max snickers next to her. 

"Huh. Gregory Manes, really?" Michael wonders. 

"Yes. I thought family members would be the most efficient."

"You also thought spending time with Gregory Manes was a wonderful idea."

"Well, who doesn't?" Isobel says. She means it. She also likes that her brothers are convinced that she actually has a crush on Gregory Manes. She used to, when they were young. She still likes him, a lot, he's impossible not to like. She just has a much bigger crush on a guy she actually knows and spends time with regularly, and she's not about to let her brothers meddle in her love life. Only she gets that right. 

"You are unbelievable." Max says. 

"Yes. It's as if I'm from another galaxy."

They spend the rest of the night mostly laughing and joking. The serious sad stuff can wait until morning. Meanwhile, they are a happy family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading until the end!  
> A few notes on this chapter:  
> \- the song Michael shouts at the top of his lungs is Song 2, by Blur (also on the album titled Blur): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSbBvKaM6sk  
> \- Emma (2020) is a gem and you should all watch it  
> \- Emma Woodhouse is also the non-alien 19th-century English embodiment of Isobel Evans  
> \- those of you missing Liz will be very, very interested in Chapter 8. <3 (she's also around in the next chapter, promise!)
> 
> Next chapter is mostly written, and I'm very excited about it!  
> As always, don't hesitate to leave comments and kudos! <3


	7. Stormy Weather

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. NO." Michael says, looking at the phone Liz is showing her. 
> 
> "What's wrong?" Alex wonders immediately. 
> 
> "Storm alert. We're in lock-down until tomorrow morning." Maria says, reading her phone as well.
> 
> "Last time we were on storm lock-down, my Airstream got flooded, and I had to live on your couch for three weeks." Michael laments, looking at Isobel. She looks at him with supportive eyes. 
> 
> "Except right now, we're stuck here." Max says.
> 
> "Where we will run out of food and need to eat each other." Rosa adds in a faux-dramatic voice. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels kind of unbelievable that we are on Chapter 7 already!  
> Thank you for all the support, you are all lovely readers! <3  
> Finally achieving my life-long dream of writing a bottle episode. So many tropes! So many possibilities!  
> Title is from British band The Kooks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEZtYNeH4q8  
> Our lovely gang is stuck at Kyle's house during a storm, and shenanigans ensue.  
> Not much plot in this one I'm afraid, but I'll make up for it in Chapter 8!

She had arrived first, even before Max, finding Kyle and Rosa in the kitchen. Kyle had asked them all to come over on a Saturday night to celebrate Maria's full ownership of her bar. Because, according to the both of them, "We need to see each other outside of the sad dark serious moments too.". They're not wrong. She hasn't seen Maria or Alex since their strategy session at the diner two weeks ago.

They had had a really nice dinner, had talked about real life stuff that didn't involve murderous soldiers and evil aliens. They'd had enjoyed the chill of Kyle's AC and the sound of the rain falling on his windows. It was a good night. 

That's when it all goes to hell. Of course. 

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. NO." Michael says, looking at the phone Liz is showing her. 

"What's wrong?" Alex wonders immediately. 

"Storm alert. We're in lock-down until tomorrow morning." Maria says, reading her phone as well.

"Last time we were on storm lock-down, my Airstream got flooded, and I had to live on your couch for three weeks." Michael laments, looking at Isobel. She looks at him with supportive eyes. 

"Except right now, we're stuck here." Max says.

"Where we will run out of food and need to eat each other." Rosa adds in a faux-dramatic voice. 

Kyle laughs at his sister. 

"I have two beds and one couch and there are..." he's counting with his fingers "eight of us."

"DIBS ON YOUR BED!" Rosa calls immediately. 

"We'll figure it out once we get there." Alex smiles. 

"A dibs is a dibs, Alex." Maria states, which grants her a huge grin from Rosa. 

"Plus, we should let the little one go to sleep, it's past her bed time." Liz adds. This earns her a death glare from Rosa. 

"It's definitely past Max's bedtime." Michael says. Max says nothing, just laughs softly and gives his brother a smile.

From there, the conversation dissolves into smaller groups, each wondering what on earth they are going to do to pass the time until they actually get tired. It's too early on a Saturday night for them all go to sleep. Michael moves to the couch ; Kyle, Rosa and Isobel retreat with Alex, Liz and Maria to the kitchen while Max stays on the table, taking a book out of his jacket. 

"Are they not talking to each other? I thought they were doing better." Liz asks her as they move to the kitchen. 

"Oh no, they are. They just like their alone time. And Michael needs to mentally prepare himself for my couch."

* * *

Michael is sitting on the couch, alone, away from the noise. He misses the outside but he knows this isn't a storm he can deal with on his own. He just hopes he has a home to return to.

He watches Alex from the corner of his eye. He's been talking with Kyle for a while and now he's looking at him. And walking towards him. And sitting on the couch.

"I've been seeing your brother." Michael knows there is a better way to say this, but that way definitely gets his attention.

"What? Which brother?" Alex asks. He looks confused, maybe a little hurt?

"Clay. He's in DC, right?"

"Yes? I don't get it. You've been seeing him?"

"Yes. I've had these visions for a while. First it was landscapes, then Paris, then DC, and yesterday, your brother. First I thought it was Flint, but, well, different haircut, and it didn't look like Santa Fe."

"What?"

"That's where Flint is, right? Santa Fe?"

"I. Yeah. You've had visions?"

"That's the part you're confused about?"

"Yes."

"Not your brother?" 

"Seeing my brother is part of your visions."

"Right."

Alex looks at him, questioning. Expecting even. 

"Right. So I think someone, an alien, is trying to communicate with me. At first I thought they were looking for me, but now that Clay is involved, I think you might be in more danger than I thought, and so I figured you should know. And like, be ready."

"I'm not getting kidnapped again Michael."

Michael pauses at that. He just called him Michael. Again. This has to mean something. 

* * *

Rosa is very proud of herself. She managed to convince most of their stupid Scooby Gang to bake cookies with her because they are the perfect sleepover food. Rather, Rosa was very proud of herself. But then Liz and Maria gave on baking entirely, sitting on a kitchen counter to talk instead. And Alex had run away from them after wasting a lot of time chatting with Kyle instead of mixing dough. 

That left her, Isobel and Kyle to save humanity from snackless doom (She should become a writer one day. If Max could do it, it probably wasn't that hard anyway.). 

"We have made absolutely no progress." Isobel says as she looks at the kitchen. Maria and Liz are deep in conversation, a million miles away, and Kyle is looking at the dough like it has personally offended him. 

"So I have to put my hands in that thing." He's glaring at the unmixed ingredients in the bowl. 

"Yes." Isobel replies matter-of-factly. She seems to be enjoying his suffering a lot right now. That might be why it was so easy to forgive Isobel. That bitch-ass alien is a lot like her. She also gave her a real apology when she took her back to rehab a few months ago. A sincere, heart-felt apology that didn't ask for forgiveness and redemption. A simple sorry.

"Come on little brother, you put your hands in humans every day, this is way cleaner." Rosa mocks. She's started calling Kyle her little brother more in her head lately. The bond they have is not as strong as what links her to Liz, but he's become so important to her that she's decided to honor that. He seems to perk up at what she's called him, and she likes the way her heart beats when he gives her a big smile. 

"I wear gloves to cut into people."

"Oh my god you are such a child." Isobel finally sighs, pushing him away and putting her hands in the bowl. 

"How do you even survive on your own?" Rosa wonders. 

"He doesn't, that's why he was so happy when Alex moved in. That's also why he has dinner with you as much as possible, and why my couch has become his second home."

Kyle simply pulls their tongue at them, like the child Isobel says he is. 

"I am a highly educated surgery resident and I have mastered alien medicine all on my own, thank you very much.

And cooking is overrated. Other people do it much better than I ever will."

* * *

Liz and Maria gave up on the kitchen pretty quickly. They had brought plates back but tonight also was a good moment for them to find each other. Maria has been working tirelessly for the past two weeks and they haven't had time to really talk and catch up.

"So, how do you feel about driving back to California tomorrow?" Maria asks her as they sit on the kitchen counter. 

"These last two weeks have been nice, setting up part of the lab in the hospital, but I miss my colleagues. I like doing science with other people, as it turns out."

Maria gives a small laugh.

"Good. I'm glad you found your people. I mean, your work people. And I'm glad it's work, no matter how much you love it."

"Yeah, Californians are very into work-life balance." Liz laughs. "I'm learning a lot."

The smile Maria gives her is warm and proud. It makes her want to say more. Maria deserves to hear more. 

"I'm sorry about last year. About lying to you."

"We had a big talk Liz, I am way past that."

"Not just about aliens. I lied to you about my research, and I put you in danger, and I was so wrong, and I'm sorry that I hurt you and didn't respect your wishes."

"Thank you for saying that." Maria replies, squeezing her hand.

"You're not the only one I should apologize too however." Liz sighs, looking to the other side of the kitchen where Rosa, Isobel and Kyle seem to have engaged in childish banter, again. 

"Ethics have been good for you."

"Yeah, I guess they have. It made me question everything I've ever done, and I still have a lot more to learn, but, at least I like where I'm going."

Maria leans on her shoulder. 

"What about you? What's next now that you are not in debt anymore?" 

"I think I want to take some time for me."

"So you're telling you have no plans. At all?" Liz is doubtful. Maria has been having plans for this bar from the moment she started working behind the counter. 

"I have plans. I just want to take my time for them. The bar is doing fine, and I can actually save money now. So that gives me time to decide on what I really want to do. No side hustles needed."

Liz gives her a big smile. 

"You deserve a break."

"I really do, don't I?" 

* * *

"We should go talk somewhere else." Michael blurts out, walking to the guest room. 

Alex isn't sure what to do. Being stuck in Kyle's house with all their friends hardly seems like the best time for Michael to say whatever he has to say. He ponders what to do for what feels like several hours, eventually following him. 

"Michael. I, I'm not sure what you want to say, but I'm also not sure you need to say it right now and..." Alex starts. 

"Why do you call me Michael?" 

"What?" There's been a lot of that tonight. Alex doesn't think he's ever been this confused about Michael Guerin. What kind of question is that? 

"You used to call me Guerin and now you call me Michael and I would like to know why." Michael wonders in a soft, curious voice. 

Alex sits on the bed with a huff. 

"I hadn't noticed."

"You hadn't?"

He hadn't. What follows doesn't register through his brain before coming out of his mouth. 

"No. But I guess Michael has good memories attached to it."

Their first kiss. That blissful night they spent in the Airstream two years ago. 

Michael is smiling. Alex is looking straight at him, sees his mouth open and his eyes crinkle. Michael lifts his head to look at Alex and his smile grows wider at Alex's own smile.

"I'll do my best to give you even better memories then." Michael tells him, still smiling and walking to the door. 

Alex might take him up on that eventually. One day. Once they fix, well, everything. 

* * *

"So, how's the flirting going?" Max wonders as Isobel comes closer to him.

"There is no flirting." she says as she sits on the chair next to him.

He's been sitting at the table for a while, reading. Or rather, pretending to read. His mind has been racing today, thinking about his history, wondering where he was coming from, what this sentence meant. Re-reading Isabel Allende has made him think a lot about the magic in his own family. 

He's also been thinking about the people in his life, the people he loves, wondering how they're really doing, how he can help them. He thinks the best way to help Isobel is to sarcasm the truth out of her. He knows sarcasm isn't a word. But if he truly wants to be a writer, maybe he can make up his own language.

"Okay, how are the obvious heart eyes working then?"

"I do not 'heart-eyes' anyone." Isobel scoffs, sneaking a look towards Kyle.

"You're not even trying to hide it anymore!" Max laughs.

"I. It's not like that, okay. I have a meaningless crush that will go away soon."

"Okay. I hope his crush is meaningless too then, because I am not getting a new doctor once you break his heart."

Isobel just shakes her head and attempts a laugh that he knows is fake.

"You're an idiot."

Max simply hums at that.

"What's on your mind?" Isobel wonders. 

"I've been thinking about family I guess. My family, our family. Where we really come from, what the society we grew up in was like."

"You want to know more?" 

"Yeah. And my only way to that is a murderous devil who looks like me with a beard."

Isobel gives him a sympathetic, loving look. One that lets him know he's supported. He's increasingly amazed at her ability to convey her emotions simply through her eyes. 

"It sounds more and more ridiculous every time I say it, I think."

"We'll figure it out. As a family."

He looks towards Michael, back on the couch. He looks content, a sight he does not see often. And to the kitchen. Kyle is looking towards them, gives them a small smile. Liz and Maria are leaning on each other.

His family is here, safe. So they'll figure it out. Together. 

* * *

She and Liz had stayed in the kitchen until the cookies were out of the oven, fighting Kyle and Rosa for them while Isobel had moved to the table and kept making faces at Max.

Rosa had eventually been defeated by her yawns and had gone to sleep. 

So here they are, sitting next to each other on the kitchen counter, eating cookies that they didn't help make. 

"I like storms." Liz finally says. 

"Me too. Cool surgeries." 

They both look at him with fake outrage in their eyes. 

"I just like the smell of rain I guess."

Maria raises her eyebrows knowingly. 

"We are not talking about it." Kyle says. 

"Okay." Maria replies softly, leaning on his shoulder. "When I was a kid, I used to climb into my Mom's bed with all my toys on stormy nights. I had this elephant plush that I would carry around everywhere, and a bunch of other animals, and I would take them all with me. And then my mom and I would wrap into a big hug with my toys in the middle of the bed, and I never felt so safe. Like I had my whole family under one roof and nothing bad could happen to us. This feels like that."

"It really does." Liz says, leaning on her shoulder.

"Do you really have to go back to sunny perfect California?" Kyle asks Liz. 

"Yeah. But I'll come back. And we can have lunch at the hospital every day, and you can tell me all about your crazy patients and hospital gossip so that I feel like I'm on Grey's Anatomy."

Kyle chuckles. 

"I think we're too pretty to be on Grey's Anatomy." Maria tells them. 

"Oh definitely." Liz replies. 

They stay with each other for a while longer, in comfortable silence, before deciding that it would be better to sleep on a bed rather than on a kitchen counter. They move to the living room quietly, imitating the astronauts they'll never get to become. 

Max is asleep on the couch, and Michael has moved onto the chair next to him, where he is sleeping with his hat on his face, like the cliché of a cowboy he likes to pretend he is.

Liz gives her a small smile as they enter Kyle's guestroom. 

They whisper nonsense to each other for a while, joking about Liz's neighbor's cat, about that incredibly enthusiastic tourist who was obsessed with bar architecture and who stayed at the Pony until closing last night. They fall asleep in each other's arms. And Maria feels safe. 

* * *

He finds Rosa, Isobel and Alex on his bed. Isobel smiles at him when he enters the room. Rosa is grabbing her arm, her head is on Isobel's shoulder. Alex is falling asleep on the other side of the bed, he can see his eyes closing off and opening again. He goes to the bathroom to change into a T-shirt and shorts and when he comes back, they're all fast asleep. He decides to settle in the one empty space, a triangle at the end of the bed between Alex and Rosa. When he lies down, Alex grabs his shoulder and drags him up so that his head is resting on his stomach.

"Can't let your feet dangle in the void."

"Thanks."

"Otherwise you won't stop complaining tomorrow about swollen ankles and bad blood circulation."

"Love you too." he tells Alex as he nuzzles into him.

He's been through worse storms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading until the end! I had a lot, A LOT, of fun writing this one. Like I wrote at the beginning, I looooove bottle episodes, so this was pretty amazing for me (this is also the most lock-down we are getting because ignoring real-life disasters is the point of my fiction).  
> The last scene is somewhat inspired by this (although not as hilarious): https://rnmtfln.tumblr.com/image/621900054944432128  
> As usual, don't hesitate to leave kudos and comments, to let me know what you liked or what you'd like to see more of!  
> Next chapter, we are jumping right back into Deep Sky.


	8. Wasteland, Baby!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Sir, we have received plausible information that what you are transporting here has been compromised. Now, my colleague and I just need to take a quick look, make sure everything is up and running, and we will send on your way."
> 
> "Is that a Southern accent?" Rosa wonders, already laughing. 
> 
> "I mean, I guess we can let you take a look." the other man says, looking to his colleague.  
> "I'll just take you back to our vehicle then, you have a few papers to sign and I have a few questions." Jenna tells them, dragging them to their car with authority. She's a natural. 
> 
> "Told you she was the best grifter we had." Rosa is smiling proudly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER EEEEIIIIIIGHT!  
> This feels insane. I'm really proud of this one, there is a lot of plot but I hope I put enough character interactions in there.  
> This chapter was also the perfect excuse to write a heist scene that is heavily inspired by every Leverage episode I've ever seen.  
> I also wrote my first cliffhanger!  
> Title is from Hozier: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=N4rKN_qW5DU

"I can't believe you do this at least twice a month." Alex tells her from behind the wheel.

"Yeah. Well, you could all move to California, my life would be easier." Liz replies. "You fit right in with the ocean."

They've just passed the border to Arizona. The shipment had left at four in the morning and they had been following a small white van for the past four hours. Jenna and Greg are waiting for them in Las Cruces, unsure of what road the shipment will take next.  
Alex had driven all the way to California two days ago. The first thing they had done was walk to the ocean and Alex had looked so happy and free looking at the waves and breathing in the salty air.  
Alex chuckles and smiles.

"Yeah, it was nice. I like the desert though. Feels like home I guess."

"Right. The desert feels like home. Not the people living in it." Liz replies, wiggling her eyebrows.

"You are even less subtle than Maria. And she keeps sending me links to songs about true love and soulmates."

Liz feels a wave of guilt suddenly crash into her. 

"Oh my god. We are terrible friends. We really support your relationship with Forrest, he's great and he makes you happy, and you keep telling me all about him and I just ignored it and...". She trails off.

"I know. I know. And I know you mean well. Truth is, I've been thinking that you're kind of right lately."

"What do you mean?"

"I like him. I like him a lot. He makes me feel right, like it's okay to be me, and he likes the me that I am. And he's wonderful. He likes poetry and history, and he's funny and kind and smart. I just. I'm not sure I see forever with him. You know, kids, a house, an embarrassing dad band."

"Well, that's okay, right?"

"Yeah. I just have to tell him."

"It will be okay. I promise." Liz tells him, squeezing his shoulder. "So, is tailing a van always this easy?" Changing the subject seems like a good idea to avoid talking about her own ideas of forever.

"How would I know?"

"Kyle told me all about your expeditions to take down Project Shepherd when you first came back."

"Kyle likes to believe he is an action hero."

"Well, he looks like it."

"Yes. Yes, he does. I think we followed Flint once. For like ten miles."

Liz laughs.

"Don't tell him I said that. It will only feed his ego."

"Promise."

They stay silent for a while, looking to the road.

* * *

"Cool air is the greatest thing in the world and we should cherish it more." Rosa says as she comes into the bunker. Maria is following her.

Michael acknowledges their arrival by a grunt.

"So, how's the heist going?" Maria asks, taking the seat next to Michael.

"They just picked up Jenna. Greg is following." Michael replies coldly, eyes staring at the screen. A little red dot is moving past Las Cruces.

"Wait, they're heading to Roswell?"

Michael's only answer is another grunt.

Maria turns his seat so that he has no choice but to look at her.

"Use your words Guerin."

"Alex says that they're probably picking up someone here. Which he says makes sense because there's a lot connecting Deep Sky to Roswell. Like Project Shepherd." Michael says, unconvinced.

"But?" Rosa chimes in. She brought her chair over so that she's right in the middle of them.

"But I think it's a trap."

"It's not a trap. They have no idea we exist." Maria tells him, reassuringly. She isn't really convinced herself, but if Alex and Jenna think everything is fine, there is nothing to worry about. Hopefully.

"But what if they do?" Michael asks, the worry obvious in his voice. "What if they noticed that they were being followed and they're changing routes to get back-up and take them down? What if the detectors are already activated and they're here to catch us?"

Rosa abruptly puts her hand on his shoulder.

"You don't get to freak out. If Alex isn't freaking out, then we don't freak out." she says sternly.

"Michael? Are you still here?" Alex's voice is coming from the computer.

"Alex? Yeah, yeah, I'm here. Of course I'm here."

"Do you feel calmer?"

"No, but we'll get there." Maria tells him. The look of panic in Michael's eyes is making it clear that she has to take over in case anything does actually happen. Which it won't.

"Get Max and Isobel down in the bunker and close the door. Is Rosa with you?"

"Are you freaking out? Cause I was calm as long as you were calm." Rosa replies, answering his question.

"I'm not. I just want us to be safe. We're going to stop them right before Roswell, once we enter Chaves County."

"And then you'll deactivate the detectors and everything will be fine." Maria says. Repeating the plan makes it feel better. They can pull this off. She knows they can.

"We'll call back in about two hours to check in, alright?" That's Liz. She sounds reassuring.

"Okay, be safe. Love you!" Maria signs off.

Michael is looking at her questioningly.

"Someone had to say it." She turns to Rosa. "You okay?"

"Yeah. We'll be fine. Jenna is very very good at lying to people and keeping them busy."  
Maria chuckles, pulling her phone out of her pocket. She has two texts from Greg.

  
_**16:26** Really glad you're here to keep them out of trouble_.  
_**16:27** Do you think Michael will be able to tell them exactly what to do without panicking?_

  
Michael has pulled out his phone too, probably to text Isobel and Max to come here. The panic is gone from his eyes, determination replacing it. A pissed-off Michael is a smart Michael.

_**16:32** Glad you're here too. And he'll be just fine, I'll make sure of it._

* * *

  
"You ready?" Jenna asks as Alex puts the blue flashing light on top of the car.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Liz answers from the backseat. She's wearing glasses, and she hopes that her simple outfit makes her look like an engineer from Homeland Security.

Jenna signals the van in front of them, turning on the blue light and the sirens. The van stops.

"Let's do this then." She says as she steps out of the car, walking to the van. She's wearing an incredible black suit, heeled boots and a crisp white shirt that make her look like a Hollywood version of herself. Alex follows her. He is wearing a bland sad beige suit that he says makes him invisible. As she steps out, Liz sees Greg pass them by. He'll stop at the next intersection.

"Gentlemen, I'm going to need you to step out of the vehicle." Jenna says, flashing her fake FBI badge (courtesy of Michael).

Two white men in their forties come out of the van. The taller man has a reddish face, dark blonde hair cut short. The smaller one is very pale, with dark hair falling on his eyes. They're both wearing UPS-like uniforms.

"My colleagues from Homeland Security and I have been informed of a possible security breach that could make your shipment dangerous."

"How do you do, Robert Kruber." Alex holds out his hand. "And this is my colleague Irene Landon."

"Good evening." She says in a stern voice, shaking their hands.

"So, what's the problem here? We're just supposed to take this from LA to somewhere in Texas called San Angelo." one of the two men says.

"Sir, we have received plausible information that what you are transporting here has been compromised. Now, my colleague and I just need to take a quick look, make sure everything is up and running, and we will send on your way."

_"Is that a Southern accent?" Rosa wonders, already laughing._

"I mean, I guess we can let you take a look." the other man says, looking to his colleague.  
"I'll just take you back to our vehicle then, you have a few papers to sign and I have a few questions." Jenna tells them, dragging them to their car with authority. She's a natural.

_"Told you she was the best grifter we had." Rosa is smiling proudly._

Alex and Liz go into the van, closing the door and turning on their flashlights.

"Okay, Michael, are you still here?" Liz asks.

_"I sure am." Michael drawls, imitating Alex's performance._

"Let's do this." Alex replies, clearly ignoring his shenanigans.

They open the detectors one by one, taking out the filters detecting alien proteins and putting them safely in a box. They then replace it by filters of Michael's making that detect absolutely nothing but include a small microphone.

"These things are small!" Liz whisper-shouts as the new filter jumps out of her clamps for the third time.

"I lost one." Alex whispers. "Fuck! Never mind, found it." he adds after banging his head on the side of the van.

 _"You should have brought Kyle." Isobel says, which earns her a glare from Michael._ _"Steady hands."_

_"Terrible actor." Michael simply answers._

_"I am right here." Kyle complains. Rosa had texted him, deciding that dangerous missions were less dangerous when you had eyes on everyone._

Liz clears her throat.

"Guys? Can we keep the bro fight down? We're trying to work here."

_"Try to see the clamp as an extension of your own hand." Kyle explains, rolling closer to the computer._

_"Kind of like when you use a pipette." Michael chimes in._

_"Or eyeliner." Max adds._

_"I can't believe we're actually managing teamwork." Rosa sighs._

_"We're managing teamwork, you're making commentary." Isobel says from the other computer she and Maria have come closer to._

"So, what's it like with Homeland Security?" one of the men is asking Jenna. His name is Nick and he is from Baltimore. Hates the sun.

"They're good people."

"Right. But isn't there like some kind of feud between you and them? Like at the FBI you're mad at all the cases they're taking from you?" the other, taller, man adds. Ernie, on the other hand, likes the sun. Hates any town with less than a million people though.

"Truth is, they don't take much away. We just leave them airports." Jenna slurs with a wink.

The two men laugh.

_"Jenna, do you think you can keep them busy for a bit longer? The other side is struggling." Maria asks softly._

"Do you want to hear a story?"

"Sure thing." the smaller man answers, the other one nodding.

"I really don't like these assignments. I'd rather be home in DC, chasing real bad guys instead of preventing good men like you from doing their job. Especially because there is probably nothing wrong with your shipment."

"Really?" Nick asks.

"Yes. You know this war that FedEx and UPS have had for years? They try to disrupt each other's work by calling in bomb threats on the other, that kind of stuff?"

They clearly have no idea what she's talking about, but her over-confidence is making them nod.

"I think that's the same thing. Why else would we be stopping two innocent men in the middle of a deserted wasteland?"

"For sure." Ernie says, still nodding. Nick is looking at Jenna with awe.

"This is just distracting us from the real crimes happening in this country." She adds.

They nod again.

_"You could probably ask them for their kidneys right now and they'd say yes." Maria says._

_"Oh, do iiiiiit!" Rosa begs. She's joined them._

_"Don't forget to tell them they can't talk about it." Isobel adds, smiling at Jenna's incredible performance._

"Of course, this is all between us. Wouldn't want any of that to go up there." Jenna adds, showing the ceiling.

 _"Do you have many left?" Kyle wonders softly after a few minutes_.

"Almost done." Alex replies.

_Kyle gives Max a smile. This is good. They're going to pull it off. Not that they had their doubts._

"And done!" Liz exclaims quietly.

_"Fingerprints cleaned?" Max asks._

"Yes." Alex answers.

_"And you got the filters in the box?" Michael asks._

"You mean your magical box that will cure all evil? Yup!" Liz replies.

_"I'm just reading off the list you gave me." Michael tells her with a smile._

"And?" Alex wonders, the smile obvious in his voice.

_"All good."_

* * *

Alex, Liz, Jenna and Greg arrive at the bunker forty minutes later.

"What took you so long?" Rosa says, jumping on all of them at once. His sister is capable of extraordinary things. Like somehow hugging four people at once.

"Traffic." Liz replies.

"And Michael kept telling us to take the scenic route." Alex adds.

"It is the best way into the city." Michael simply replies.

"Your abandoned Airstream is not the best way into the city." Maria states.

Michael just gives her a wink and she laughs.

"How's your sister's couch by the way?" Rosa asks playfully.

Michael grunts, leading everyone to laugh softly.

"Alright, should we move this to a place that has more natural light?" Isobel suggests. "Like my house. With a terrace. Outside."

"You do realize the sun is going down any minute, right?" Rosa tells her.

"Yes, exactly, it will be perfectly romantic." Isobel answers, winking to Michael for everyone to see.

"Right, I'll change first though. This suit is making me crawl out of my own skin." Alex says, retreating to the back of the bunker.  
They all leave him be. Kyle sees Michael taking his time. He doesn't seem to be the only one.

"He's been working out, right?" Isobel says in a clearly mischievous tone. Kyle raises his eyebrows towards her. She gives him a look right back that seems to say 'I am the most innocent lamb of all the innocent lambs.'.

"Could we please not objectify my brother?" Greg asks at the same time as Maria signals to Michael, loudly,

"Got a little drool there.", touching her own chin.

That's when Alex comes out, smiling at what he clearly just heard.

"Should we go then?" Kyle asks. He and Rosa drag Alex to his car, in the hopes of getting something out of him. He's been openly responding to Isobel's meddling lately, and not in a negative way.

Alex says nothing however, just frustratingly smiles all the way to Isobel's house. They have a weird dinner of everything left in her fridge and enjoy the sunset from her terrace.  
They all leave one by one. Max goes first, giving him a hug. Jenna follows, going home to Charlie. Then Rosa and Liz. Eventually Maria and Alex drag a sleeping Greg home. Michael gets up once they're gone.

"I'm gonna go for a walk."

"In the desert. At midnight?"

"The sand calms me." he replies, giving Isobel a very obvious wink.

Kyle brings the plates back to the kitchen and shakes his head as he starts washing them.

"What's up with him?" Kyle wonders as Isobel follows him into the kitchen.

"He's. I don't know. He's being weird. Just Michael being Michael I guess. He just. He likes the air probably. He's always been a bit of an outdoorsman. Probably could have been some kind of lumberjack had we landed in a place with more forest."

"Iz, you're rambling."

"Yes."

"What's up?". He lifts his head from the sink to look into her eyes. Her really beautiful, piercing green eyes.

"It's stupid.". She sighs, leaning on the kitchen counter. She looks shy. Isobel Evans is never shy.

"It's never stupid." he replies, running his fingers full of foam on her hand.

"I just. It's. We've been spending a lot of time together, and I guess you're one of my best friends by now, but I also. I thought maybe there was more but clearly I was wrong and now you're gonna want to run, and you can't, because I made you drink too many beers."

He doesn't say anything. He doesn't kiss her the second she starts speaking because he wants to be sure. It's way too much to process. He's had a crush on Isobel Evans since he's met her. A crush that faded, because Liz and med school and life, but now, he knows her. Like truly knows her. And he still gets all the butterflies and the happy thoughts and...

"I told you it's stupid." Isobel finally says after a long pause, slipping away from him.

"It's really not." he sighs, softly holding on to her hand. "There is more. At least, I feel more. Like I want to kiss you, and take you out on dates, and maybe go on a trip with you somewhere. Somewhere that has Netflix so you can keep showing me films that aren't that good but that make you smile that really happy smile."

He's sure he looks like an idiot right now. Smiling brightly because he actually has a chance. Because she's smiling that same stupidly bright smile right now. Because she's smiling right back.

So he kisses her. And she kisses him. It's soft and loving and wonderful.  
When they part, they laugh a little. He brings up his hand to her cheek. She laughs some more.

"You're getting soap all over me." she chuckles.

"Well that's what you get for making big romantic declarations when I'm doing the dishes."

She smiles at him. "I really want to go on a date with you but I also really want to take you out of your T-shirt so this is a bit of a dilemma."

"Huh."

"Of course one could argue that we've been on dozens of dates already, and I could just take you upstairs." she whispers, kissing his neck.

Kyle doesn't control the sound that comes out of his mouth when she moves up to his ear.

"Yeah. No, I could definitely argue that." Kyle rushes, bringing her face towards him so that their mouths can find each other again.

He doesn't go home that night. He also doesn't sleep on the couch.

* * *

  
It's been a good day. He had his first social work class at the community college and is pretty impressed (and slightly overwhelmed, but nothing a little organization can't fix) with what he's going to learn. He's also very excited to meet this new colleague of Kyle's. Maybe she can explain the incredibly happy mood his friend has been in for the past few days.

"Hey! Alex!" Kyle exclaims as he enters the bar, followed by a small woman with curly brown hair. Her skin is a pale and golden brown. She's wearing dark jeans and a simple burgundy tank.

"Hi!" Alex says once they reach his table.

"So, this is Nina, the new ER nurse who's been working here for a week. She's French." Kyle introduces her with a smile.

"You were supposed to say that I'm very French. Which I am. It's lovely to meet you." she says, extending her hand to Alex. Her eyes are incredibly familiar. Brown with a speck of gold.

"I'm Alex. It's good to meet you too." he replies with a smile.

"Well, I'll go get us beers then." Kyle tells them, walking to the counter where he sees Maria already smiling at them.

"So, do you happen to be the reason he's been so happy these days?" Alex asks right away. He knows he sounds like Maria or Isobel, but Kyle won't tell him anything and he has questions.

She laughs. "I showed up about a week ago, and he seems like a generally happy person, but he's been positively giddy for the past two days. I'm afraid I don't have much to do with that." she replies. Her accent sounds more English than French. "So, you and Kyle have been best friends forever for how long?" she wonders.

Alex laughs. She seems nice. It's good that Kyle is getting friends who aren't tangled up in alien conspiracies.

_"So, is she why you've been so happy lately?" Maria asks, drawing a beer._

_"What? No? I'm not so happy. She's just a colleague." Kyle replies, clearly panicked._  
_She believes that last part but he has been happier lately and she really wants to know why._

_They make small talk and Kyle goes back to their table. That's when she sees it. On her right shoulder, partly hidden by the strap of her top. A round symbol with a cross in the middle that looks way too much like a part of Michael's tattoo._

_"Fuck." she groans, pulling out her phone._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! As usual, do not hesitate to leave comments or kudos. And let me know where you think this is going!!  
> Isobel's comment outside of the bunker is very very inspired by this post: https://prouvaireafterdark.tumblr.com/post/623143583254478849/in-season-3-i-really-want-isobel-to-make-an  
> Next week, we'll find out a lot more about Nina, and about Deep Sky. Things are happening!


	9. Truth Hurts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hi, I'm Nina. I... come in peace?"
> 
> "What do you mean you come in peace?"
> 
> "Are we in a bad alien movie?"
> 
> "Why do your eyes look exactly like Michael's?"
> 
> "Do we really need to add another character at this point in the plot?" 
> 
> "WAIT, why DO you eyes look exactly like Michael's?" Liz finally asks, silencing everyone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is unbelievable! I started this because I had some story that wouldn't get out of my head, and now we are on Chapter 9!  
> Thank you to all of you for reading, commenting, leaving kudos, bookmarking! This means everything to me! ❤️
> 
> On to the story now: we learn a lot about Nina, a little about Jenna, truths are finally said, apologies are made and the plan to take down evil alien chasers is taking shape!  
> Title is from Lizzo: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P00HMxdsVZI

Why did this keep happening? A couple of months of peacefulness, that's all he got. Why did everyone always target Alex? Why do people want to hurt the best thing humanity has ever created? Michael's thoughts are spiraling as he climbs into his truck and drives manically towards the bar. Alex is not getting kidnapped and taken away from the people who love him. Not again. Never again. Why is Kyle with him? Why isn't he doing anything? Why is he smiling? Maybe they've all been too careless, thinking they were safe because Deep Sky didn't know anything. The second he crosses the door to the Wild Pony, he sees him. Hair a mess like he's been in the wind all day. A blinding smile he's been seeing a lot more lately. He can't help his sigh of relief as he lunges towards him. Alex is safe. He's okay, he's in his arms, he's laughing. Why is he laughing? He was clearly in danger, that's what all those visions kept telling him.

"It's good to see you too" Alex says in his ear, laughing softly. Why is he laughing?

"I see you finally got my message." a feminine voice says from behind him. 

"Nina, nice to finally meet you.". Her accent is small, but it's there. A weird mix of English and French. She smiles at him as she extends her hand, the gold in her eyes painstakingly familiar.

* * *

  
"So glad you could all join us." Maria exclaims as Liz comes through the door, Rosa and Jenna in tow. Max and Isobel arrived earlier and have been staring suspiciously at the woman on his left since then. Alex is on his right, an always calming presence. Kyle looks as confused as he has for the past twenty minutes. 

"'Well, who could say no to '911 my bar' at midnight?" Jenna asks mockingly. She stops in her tracks when she sees Nina. 

"Why does the room look like it's set up for an AA meeting? Are we finally intervening Alex's hair?" Rosa asks as she sits on the first chair she finds.

Alex laughs from his side. "It's growing, it's a process. And no. Turns out, we are not alone."  
Michael laughs a bit.

Nina seems uncomfortable on her chair: "Hi, I'm Nina. I... come in peace?"

"What do you mean you come in peace?"

"Are we in a bad alien movie?"

"Why do your eyes look exactly like Michael's?"

"Do we really need to add another character at this point in the plot?" 

"WAIT, why DO you eyes look exactly like Michael's?" Liz finally asks, silencing everyone. 

"Yeah, so, apparently, she's my cousin. My French cousin." Michael sighs. 

"SHE'S YOUR WHAT?" That's Isobel. Guess the tension from the suspicious staring had to go somewhere.

"Maybe we should let her explain." Jenna says. She has an unreadable look in her eyes.

"Yeah, that's actually why you're all here." Alex responds, nodding encouragingly towards Nina. 

"Right so my name is Nina."

"Hi Nina." Rosa says in a distant mocking voice.

"Right. Hi. So my dad and his dad", she points to Michael, "were brothers. When you left our planet, my dad came with but his dad didn't. My dad landed in Libya with my aunt and my grandmother, and he died a few months ago. In his will he asked me to go look for our family, so I started with all the visions I've been having for years." 

"So we get visions now, that's really great." Max snickers.

"You don't get them? That's... Anyways, I'd say about, twelve, years ago, I was in class, minding my own business, and then all of a sudden I'm seeing two guys dressed in ridiculous suits and punching each other, and I feel a lot of anger. Like a lot." she's pointedly staring at him, and it's getting uncomfortable. She's been doing that a lot since they met, twenty minutes ago. 

"Over the years, I got other visions, I always felt something pretty strong with them but nothing was ever clear enough for me to know where they were coming from. And then, about two years ago, I saw a military uniform that said Manes, US Air Force. So I started looking."

"It took you two years to find me?" Alex asks softly. He's always so soft, even to people he doesn't know and can't trust yet.

"I hadn't planned on doing anything until my dad died. I thought my days of alien searching were behind me."

There is a silence. 

"So the family on my dad's side landed in Libya, my mom and my grandmother were in Spain with a few other people, and there's this pretty big community in India, of like 200 people that made it out of the crash and strived."

"That's incredible." Isobel sighs. 

"Yeah, it really is." Nina smiles. "So, do you have to take a vote on whether I'm evil or not now?" 

They really shouldn't. When she says it like that, it sounds awful. But the looks he sees from everyone (except Max, who still seems weary) are a good sign. 

"There is no obvious beard nor black devilish clothes so I don't think you qualify as evil." Rosa says. 

"Oh God. We're going to talk about that too, but I think it can wait a bit."  
Michael sees the moment his friends' eyes turn questioning. 

"I've been up for 27 hours. And it's a long story, with a lot of details, and I also have questions, so I think it best to wait until after we've all slept."

He sees the moment they relax too. If she's evil, she's very good at lying about it. But he's confident he can trust her. Confident she is who she says she is. Somehow. 

As they all get up, he sees Rosa leaning towards Maria. 

"Do you think those questions include 'what kind of idiot opens a clearly secure door in the middle of the desert knowing there might be a bad guy behind?'?" she whispers, loud enough for him to hear. Maria just swats her arm. 

He stays back, looking at Alex. Is he always this beautiful? Rosa doesn't know what she's talking about, his hair is perfect like this, all messy and free.

"Thank you for tonight. Really. It means a lot" Michael finally whispers. That you trusted me. That you trusted her. That you helped, no questions asked.

Alex gives him a soft smile. "I think we can trust her. Her story holds up. And she genuinely seemed happy to finally meet you." 

"About... What she said about two years ago, I..."

"You know, if I could, I probably would have sent visions of you too that day." he says sheepishly. When he looks up, it's with an impenetrable look. "Goodnight Michael."

"Goodnight Alex."

Michael hugs Maria goodbye before leaving as well, thanking her for her kindness and for always looking out for her friends. For being her, in sum. 

As he steps out, he sees Nina enraptured in conversation with Jenna. He comes closer and can only hear her say "You look good." before she leaves.

Nina looks angry, or heartbroken, or both, he's not sure. It's only in passing though, and her face turns to a smile when she sees him. 

"Do you need a place to stay, or anything?" he trails, unsure of how to act with a complete stranger who's apparently the closest thing he has to a biological family.

"No, don't worry, I have a room at a motel, and I'm hoping to get an apartment soon. I'll be alright.". She smiles again. She nods towards Alex's car, driving away. "I like him."

"It's not. We're not. It's not like that."

"Oh I know. Just give it time." she says gently, stepping into the truck. 

They drive towards the motel in comfortable silence. He has a cousin. A supportive alien French cousin.

* * *

"Hi." Liz tells him, smiling a little when he opens his door.

He must stand dumbfounded a bit too long, because she immediately speaks again.

"Jenna came by the diner and said she needed to talk to the both of us. She's grabbing a few things from her car."

Just like clockwork, Jenna appears.

"Right, come on in!" Max says, forcing a smile on his face despite the worry creeping up his stomach. Jenna doesn't need to talk unless it's bad. And he couldn't help but notice the way she tensed last night when she saw that woman. Nina, he reminds himself. Michael's cousin, maybe. Alex seems to believe her story but Max isn't there yet.

"So, what's so important that you couldn't tell me at the diner?" Liz asks as she sits on the couch. He tries not to think of all the memories he has of her on this couch.

"Nina is my ex." Jenna sighs as she throws herself in the chair in front of Liz. Max takes the other one. He laughs. 

"Of course she is." Because of course she is. 

"You were in France? I thought you came to Roswell directly after the military?" Liz wonders. 

"I was. And I did, mostly. After my tour I went to a base in Germany for a bit. They had this big NATO-related exchange program and I got sent to France, on an army base near Paris. One day we went out for drinks and that's how we met." Jenna seems lost in her memories. 

"Oh wow." Liz says. "So she's like a lot more than some girl you used to date." No question, a statement. 

"Yeah. After my two years I took some time off. We lived together for a few months before I left."

"Why did you leave?" Max asks.

"Charlie. Or at least that's what I told myself."

"What was the real reason then?" Liz asks kindly. 

"I thought she was hiding things from me. There was so much that didn't make sense. Her family, that she couldn't trace past her grandmothers. Moments where she seemed on the verge of telling me something before pretending it was nothing."

"Do you think she's hiding things from us now?" Liz wonders. 

"No. She's a terrible liar. Well, except for the alien part. I did some research before I left. I think you should have it." she's looking directly at him.

"I'm not sure I can be objective anymore."

"Does she know why you left?." Liz asks. 

"I left her a note that said BYE in all caps. Changed phone numbers and ignored her messages for weeks. So, no, not really."

"She broke your trust." Max tells her. He only realizes the impact of his words once they're out. Liz is smiling at him though. It's small and sad, but it's a smile nonetheless. 

"And you had to save your sister." she adds.   
Jenna sighs and leans back on the couch.

"I think you can trust her though. She cares for people, especially the ones she considers family. And she's a fast thinker, so that might be useful once we have to take down Deep Sky."  
Liz nods. 

"She also plays rugby and is very capable of kicking someone's ass if you need help out there Evans."

That's when he decides to tell them. He doesn't really think about it, doesn't know what triggered it, if it was the reminder that they would expect him to use strength he didn't have soon enough, or the accumulation of signs screaming "Lying to your loved ones about such a big thing is a bad idea!", or Kyle telling him that he shouldn't be doing this alone, or therapy, but it comes out. 

"My heart stopped working the night of Crashcon. The pacemaker has been keeping me alive since then." It's clear, emotionless, almost robotic. But it's the truth. 

Jenna sits up immediately. Liz looks teary. And hurt. And mad. And way too many emotions for one person to be feeling at the same time. 

"I can live with it. I just can't really use my powers right now. Or fight paramilitaries I guess." He smiles, trying to defuse the situation.

"Three months. You hid this for three months." Liz whispers. She seems a hundred miles away. 

"You know this is what friends and family are here for, right? Support!" Jenna says. Her voice doesn't rise. She looks worried and a bit mad. Like his mom when he was a kid and he lied to her to protect her feelings and stop her from worrying.

"I'm sorry I lied. I think I needed time to make peace with it first."

"Does Isobel know? And Michael?" Liz wonders. 

"Only Kyle." Max sighs. "I'm telling them soon, I promise. I won't ask you to lie for me."

Jenna gets up at that and comes in front of his chair. She sits on the coffee table and puts both her hands around his face. 

"Never. Lie. To. Me. Again."

"I promise, partner."

"Okay, good. Now I have to get to actual work that doesn't involve aliens. Hopefully." She stands, waves to Liz, and walks to the door.

Liz, who hasn't moved an inch since the last time she spoke. Liz, who still seems to be processing too many emotions at the same time. Liz, who is moving her eyes to directly look into his. 

"You could have died. Alone. No one would have known."

"I'm sorry." 

"I know." She looks like she's about to cry. "I know we don't really see each other a lot right now, and we have many things to work out, but. I love you, Max. And I need to know when things are happening in your life. Things that are that important. So, can we make a deal?" 

He nods. He wants to scream that he loves her too, but that's not the conversation they are having right now. 

"We'll tell each other the important stuff. We'll be honest and open about our lives." Her voice is hopeful. 

"Deal." He holds out his hand and she shakes it, letting her fingers linger. 

"I have to apologize. Really apologize." Her voice has changed to determination. "What I did last year. My research. It was wrong on every level. Not only did I break your trust, but I also put you and our families in danger. And I broke the most basic rules of science. I ignored consent and ethics because I was obsessed with my research. Obsessed with making a difference and being more than a small-town waitress. I'm sorry, Max. And I will do better. I am working to do better." He looks up from their entangled hands. Her eyes have never looked so honest. 

"I forgive you." He tells her. And it's that simple. He trusts that she will do better, that they will talk. He trusts that he will do better too. 

"I need to apologize to them too." she says. His smile is encouraging. 

"And I need to tell them." She smiles at him, supportive. 

"Maybe we can tell them together?" He hopes, against all hope, that he doesn't sound too hopeful. They still have a long way to go. 

* * *

The taco place near the hospital is surprisingly empty for lunchtime on a weekday. Kyle imagines that it is better, seeing as the conversation they're about to have probably shouldn't be heard by everyone.

Michael is already sitting at a table. His hat is on the chair next to him. He looks nervous and lost in his thoughts. He doesn't seem to realize Kyle is sitting in front of him until he clears his throat.

"Oh. Hi." Michael says. He doesn't seem particularly happy to see him.

"Hi." Kyle answers, smiling. He's trying. Both Isobel and Alex seem to really really care about the guy, so there must be more to him than the cowboy cliché he pretends to be. Even Maria and Liz care. They told him to make an effort (well they didn't say it, they hinted heavily with their eyes and their eyebrows). So when Nina asked to meet with him and Michael for lunch, he said yes. 

They sit in awkward silence for what feels like hours. Kyle is struggling to start a conversation. So he uses Alex, because talking about Alex always gets Michael Guerin's attention. 

"Alex says Nina's story checks out, so that's good news."

"Yeah, yeah." It's more of a grunt than words.

"What's wrong?"

"I just. Do you ever trust someone you don't actually know?" 

"Yeah. Jenna. When we told her about aliens, we didn't know anything about her except that she worked with Max and didn't like Jesse. Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith."

"Right. Jenna knows her." Michael grumbles. 

"What do you mean she knows her?"

"He means Jenna and I lived together before she walked out on us and broke my heart." Nina says from behind him. 

"Oh wow. I have so many questions." Kyle says, pulling back the chair next to him so she can sit. 

"I think it's more of a late night, possibly drunk, conversation. But I can say Jenna and I know each other really, really well."

"Did you know she was here before you came?" Michael wonders. 

"Yes and no. I looked her up last year, saw she was a cop here. But I didn't know if she still was when I decided to come here." Nina sighs. 

They stay silent for a bit. 

"Kyle, before we dig deep on the alien family tree, I just want to say that I am really sorry that I lied to you. I had no idea that you knew about us. And I didn't mean to use you, but when you asked me if I wanted to meet your best friend Alex Manes, I just thought 'now or never'." she tells him.

"You're forgiven." he replies. 

"Good, good. I'm glad. I like having an American doctor friend who supports universal healthcare. So, what's good here?" 

They order and eat happily, discussing mundane things. How Nina has lived a thousand lives at only 32, growing up in France, studying for a year in England, living in Madrid to look for aliens, working in the biggest Emergency Room in Paris. How Michael and Kyle have never left the United States but still lived a hundred lives in one year with everything that was happening in Roswell. Kyle does most of the talking, but Michael seems to come alive when he finds out that his cousin loves fixing cars as well, and that his uncle ran a garage in France. 

"So, your parents moved to France at some point in their youth?" he asks with interest. 

"Well, my grandmother and my mom landed in Spain in 1947. It wasn't exactly a fun time to be in Spain, and my grandmother quickly looked for ways to flee. She got involved with the Basque independentists and she took my mom out of her pod in 1961. They moved from the Spanish to the French Basque Country. My dad and my aunt left their pod around the same time. In the 80s, my dad left Libya, first for Germany and then France. He met my mom in Bordeaux in 85."

"So my dad was older?" Michael asks.   
"Yes, by quite a lot. From what I gather he was about 27 or 28 when they left and my dad was like 12. He decided to stay and fight the good fight."

"So, activist family?" Kyle says. 

"You could say that. Before she died in the late 70s, my grandmother went to every feminist protest in Libya."

"Badass grandmothers." Kyle tells her admiratively. 

"Yeah, they're a lot to live up to." 

"You know a lot about them." Michael says longingly. 

"They were the only family I had and I ask a lot of questions. My aunt died in the 90s, I never met her. It was always just my parents and my grandmother. No cousins, no other grandparents, no ancestry." She bends down to grab her bag.

"My grandmother kept journals, and my dad brought them with him to Germany. We did most of the English translation when I was a teenager, we wanted everyone in India to be able to read it. It's kind of a history of our people and our planet. And of our family too. I thought you should have it. You, Max and Isobel. I know what it's like to wonder all the time. This doesn't have all the answers, but it's a start."

Kyle thinks he sees Michael's eyes water before he shakes his head and gives her a simple thank you. He feels like he probably shouldn't be here but he also doesn't know how to leave without making it even more awkward.

"Maybe we could talk about it once you've read it. I could teach you a thing or two about controlling visions and telepathy." she tells Michael with a wink. 

The smile he gives her is one Kyle has rarely seen. The one usually reserved for Isobel.

"So, Dr Valenti, ready to go save lives?"  
Too busy focusing on this part of Michael he rarely gets to see, he doesn't respond.

"Kyle?"

"Yes?"

"We have a shift in ten minutes?"

"Right. Yes. Saving lives. Sorry, it's just pretty incredible to actually hear about this whole world up there."

"It really is." Michael says, already reading one of the three journals Nina gave him.

* * *

"We really need to stop meeting like this." Michael whines as he opens the door to the diner. It is once again four in the morning, a normal time to discuss normal alien business. Isobel laughs, because she has had her coffee a half hour ago and thus feels like a person. Michael, on the other hand, refused to get up from the couch, hid himself under the covers and had to run to her car with one bare foot. At four in the morning.  
Unsurprisingly, they are the last to arrive. Liz hands Michael a cup of coffee the second he sits in a booth. Isobel sits in front of him, next to Kyle.

"So, Alex, you were about to tell us, on a scale from 1 to 10, how bad is it?" Rosa asks. 

"Something like eight, eight and a half." Alex sighs. He, Maria and Max spent the night analyzing the sounds they had gotten from Deep Sky.

"Their main idea is to capture every alien they find and keep them so they can figure out how they never die. And then use it." Maria tells them.

"We never die?" Isobel wonders.

"They don't seem to know much about us. Mostly that we exist. That we live in Roswell. And that we don't get sick. Which is why they want to use us." Max adds.

There's a silence. 

"There's something I have to say." Liz starts.

"What's wrong?" Rosa asks immediately.

"It's nothing bad. Or, rather, I did something bad and I need to apologize. Last year, in my lab, I let the experiments become more important than anything else. Than your safety, than your wishes. I made them more important. I'm sorry that I hurt you, that I didn't listen to you, that I put you in danger. I will do better."

The silence that follows is deafening. Kyle had told her Liz was focusing on ethics, and working with other scientists, and questioning her decisions more. That she was getting better. So Isobel had moved on. Buried the betrayal and hurt. This is a lot. 

"That's a lot." Michael says next to her. 

"Yeah. I don't expect you to forgive me. I just want you to know that I am truly sorry."

Maria grabs her hand. Isobel can see that Rosa is crying. 

"Never again?" she wonders, looking to her sister. 

"I promise." Liz answers, determined yet soft, grabbing her sister's hand. 

There is an other silence. This one feels hopeful. So of course she has to break it. She'll talk to Liz later, but for now, they have a paramilitary to take down. 

"Alright, back to Deep Sky. Why now?" Isobel asks. She tries her most authoritative voice. She hopes they can't hear the tremble in it.

Alex looks at her, surprised, before resuming his explanations with his captain voice.  
"From what we heard and the research I've made, I gather that they left Project Shepherd in the fifties. I'm guessing they had a fight with our grandfathers." Alex turns to Kyle. "And then they founded this paramilitary organization to chase aliens and use them. It was a pretty small operation up until recently. I'm guessing whoever took over is more into action than his predecessors."

"Okay, so what's their plan?" Michael asks.

"They want to come to Roswell, find us, and take us to this place they built in Texas." Max starts.

"But we are stopping them before they do. Their detectors are already useless to them, so the plan is to convince them that all aliens are gone." Alex finishes. 

"Caufield." Michael whispers next to her. How he understood that in less than a second is amazing to her. "I'm coming with you."

"Michael, you can't just run into..." Maria starts. She's right. He can't go.

"The detectors aren't working anymore. If you want to take everything down, you're going to need someone like me. I can dismantle anything. I'm going." Michael states. He's not allowing any discussion, which makes her incredibly frustrated.

"Okay." Alex says soflty. 

"Meanwhile, Jenna and I will take down their resources from here. Our dearest Sherriff has been taking money out of the department into Deep Sky, and we're going to make it look like he took this money for himself. It's gonna be wonderful. The mayor already hates him, so the rest will just, play itself." Rosa tells them, giddy with excitement.

"Our man in the Airforce is also getting transferred to a meaningless desk job with no security clearance." Jenna adds.

"You two can hack?" Isobel asks.

"Yeah. Alex has been teaching Rosa. And Jenna can do anything." Kyle replies. He's smiling at her soflty. She tries not to see too much in that smile, not to interpret every little wrinkle as a sign that he likes her (which she knows he does, he told her - several times). She feels like a teenager. Caring about a boy while also planning a paramilitary takedown and burying feelings about scientific experiments. Normal multi-tasking. 

"They'll be out of power, out of money, out of objectives." Liz says. "It's a good plan Alex."

"Yeah. I just hope we won't need backup. Greg deserves a break. And you all have real jobs."

"Why can't Max and I follow you?" Isobel asks. She wants to help. She's tired of sitting on the sidelines and waiting for things to happen. 

Alex and Maria look at Max with what looks like encouragement. Liz is smiling at him. Isobel is confused. From the looks of it, so is Michael. 

"What?" he asks. 

"My heart stopped beating at Crashcon." Max explains. Isobel feels her heart stop.

"I've been living thanks to your pacemaker since. Which means that I can't use my powers if we get into trouble."

When her heart starts again, it's with a huge weight on top of it. 

She can feel Michael fuming next to her. 

"You're unbelievable. Three months! Three fucking months, Max!" He's not shouting, exactly. And it's not just anger either, there's hurt too. 

"I'm sorry. I had to figure it out for myself first. I could say I didn't want to worry you, which is also true, but mostly I didn't know what it meant for me yet, and I needed time."  
Isobel can feel a tear roll down her cheek.

"But you're okay?" Max nods. She looks to Kyle. Kyle who knew, obviously. "He's okay?" she asks him. 

"Yeah, he's great. He's been smart and careful."

So she stands and wraps her brother in a hug. She asks Michael to follow, hoping he'll hear that the way he heard Alex's thoughts.  
She hears him stand and can feel him hugging Max as well. 

"Never again." he states. 

"I promise." Max answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> I think this is my longest chapter yet! Some hard conversations were had, and these are not always easy to write. I also didn't want to do too much exposure, but I think that's inevitable when you introduce a new character.  
> A few notes on this chapter:  
> \- the very appropriate question on the need for a new character is directly inspired by this song from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (great show, terrible title): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=s638IMetB9I  
> \- Jenna's backstory is probably highly unlikely, but I really wanted her to have lived in France, so I'm ignoring reality (and inconsistent canon).  
> \- Isobel, Michael and Rosa are always late. Max and Liz always arrive early. The only reason Rosa is on time here is beavuse Liz dragged her down the stairs. 
> 
> Next chapter, we will dive into Deep Sky, alien powers and feeeeeeelings. I might be a bit late though, this week promises to be super busy!  
> As always, don't hesitate to comment or leave kudos!


	10. Career Opportunities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Proteins don't float around. They're in your cells Rosa."
> 
> "Yes Rosa, you should know that, Rosa. Everybody knows that, Rosa." Alex imitates as he takes a seat next to Kyle. 
> 
> "I would like for people to stop showing up from behind me. It's stressful." Kyle complains. Rosa wears her question in her eyes, but Alex immediately shoots back. 
> 
> "Yes, we wouldn't want these wrinkles to widen." He says, touching Kyle's forehead. 
> 
> He swats back his arm. 
> 
> "That'll teach me to worry about you." Kyle replies. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HIIIII!  
> I'm back! It has been a very very busy week, but I finally managed to finish this chapter, so I am putting it out into the world!  
> It took me a while to write it, and it is quite long, but I am also kind of proud of it. Things are moving for our characters, and I'm so proud of them.  
> In this chapter, Kyle and Nina are at work, Alex makes a decision, Rosa spends quality time with her brother, Maria and Liz have a day at work, and we learn about Planet Alien.  
> Title is from The Clash: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jZOrkPIZ1JU

They're sitting in an empty corridor. Kyle has his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands. Nina is next to him, her head lying on the top of the chair, and she's looking at him. They've been silent for a while. Their patient died before they could get him to surgery. Pulmonary embolism. 

"You set the tone Kyle."

He laughs sadly. "I don't need a Mark Greene."

"True. But you deserve support. And I believe in you."

"You know I've already forgiven you, right?" 

"I'm serious Kyle. You're impressive. I know you've had some out-of-the-box experience." He chuckles. That's one way to qualify alien medicine. "But you're still just a third year resident and I'm honestly amazed by the doctor that you are."

He chuckles and shakes his head.

"Really. I've met my fair share of doctors over the years. Interns, residents, attendings, untouchable professors. And you're the most humble yet. Confident in your skills and your knowledge, but eager to learn from science and humanity. You're going to do great things, Kyle Valenti."

"So what you're saying is that I would have made a great nurse."

She laughs. "You are the best of both worlds."

"I could say the same about you." And he means it.

She smiles softly. 

"I really wish I didn't have to be. I've found my family now, so this should be it, right? I should be free of the hell that is in my cousin's bunker and just let others deal with it."

"That would leave you more time to pine after Jenna."

"I'm not pining. She broke my heart and destroyed any chance we ever had. It's just harder to be over her when I see her and hear of her every day.". She sighs.

Kyle's pager is beeping.

"We have to get back out there." he says as he stands up. They rush to the ambulance entrance. 

"What do we got?" 

"Sue Parker, 72, fell down the stairs in her home. Kids called 911 when she wouldn't wake up. She's somewhat stable, regained consciousness on the way."

"Exam 1 free?" 

Carol nods. 

"Alright, I'm gonna need a head CT, let's put her on fluids. Nina, CBC, Chem-7, cardiac enzymes."

"She's crashing!" 

"Starting compressions."

Ten minutes later, Sue is back with them and insisting that she's fine to go home. 

"See, setting the tone." Nina smiles as she walks out of the room. 

* * *

"You sure this is okay?" Forrest asks, again. 

"Yeah. Yes. Of course. Of course, it's okay." Alex replies. He's been silent for a good minute. Caught by the surprise of Forrest taking the words out of his mouth.

_"I think we could work. In another universe. With different histories. Just not this one. I care about you. About us. And what we have is beautiful. Which is why I don't want to destroy it by pretending that we can make this work. Or that I see us making it work forever. I'm sorry."_

That's what Alex had wanted to say. What he hadn't been able to say yet. He had stayed silent for a while before Forrest had spoken. And then silent again after. 

"I came to the same conclusion." Alex sighs. Forrest takes his hand. 

"You want something epic." Alex tells him, smiling. 

"And you want a house with a yard and kids and an embarrassing dad band." Forrest laughs. 

"Yeah. Yeah, I really do.". Alex feels his smile growing wider, thinking about kids running around a house and a garden. 

"Good. And you'll get that. You deserve that. I truly believe that."

"You deserve your epic love." Alex replies almost immediately. "You deserve someone who wants forever with you. And you will find him. Or he will find you. Or you'll find each other I guess."

He can feel the tears coming. The tears he's been trying to hold back since he made his decision, a few days ago. 

"I will always like you, Alex Manes. You will always hold a special place in my heart. The first true poet I ever dated." Forrest tells him, caressing his cheek. Tears are in his eyes too, although they haven't started falling. 

"Thank you."

Forrest gives him a puzzled look. 

"These past few months have been so special to me. You have been so special to me. You are so special. You showed me care, kindness, softness. I loved every second we shared. I will always remember you."

The tears are fully falling now, but he's not trying to stop them. If there is one thing he has learnt lately, it's that it's okay to be open. Forrest showed him it could be done, therapy taught him it could be done, his friends and his brother convinced him that he could do it. 

The kiss they share is soft, like most of the kisses they've shared. It's a little wet and salty, and Alex hopes it tells Forrest everything he forgot to say.

_**Rosa Ortecho** _

**18:17** I have milkshakes, ice cream and a lot of music waiting for you

**18:17** I love you. 

* * *

Her day sucks. She knows her day sucks the minute her alarm rings and she feels her headache and her sore legs. She knows it a little more when her coffee maker decides to go on an unannounced strike. She knows it for sure when her car refuses to start. And Michael is not answering his phone. She starts to believe in a curse when the sky decides that today is the day for the one rain in July. She fully thinks she's been hexed when she arrives soaked at the bar to find that she's forgotten her keys.

_**Maria DeLuca**_

**11:46** LIZ

**11:46** The second you're back, we're drinking tequila on the roof.

**11:47** I'll bring ice-cream for Rosa. 

**11:49** Actually, Rosa will be busy saving the world, so I'll bring ice cream for us. 

**11:56** I just broke into my own bar. And found my keys in the very deep end of my backpack. I hate today.

**_Liz Ortecho_ **

**12:32** I hate today too.

**12:32** I lost samples.

**12:32** Then I found them.

**12:33** Except I had already told my boss that I lost them.

**12:33** And she reported it. 

**12:33** So now I have to go to admin. 

**12:33** I hate admin.

**12:34** It's on the other side of the building. 

**12:35** And it's taking my lunch break away.

**13:03** The admin lady was very nice. 

**13:03** She had a lot of questions on my skincare routine. 

**13:04** And on my eyeliner. 

**13:05** Guess I can thank Alex for that. 

_**Maria DeLuca** _

**13:08** So that's a yes on tequila? 

_**Liz Ortecho** _

**13:10** Always.

Liz puts her phone down, smiling. Her day is getting better. Hopefully. Her boss is out at some meetings, so it's just her scientist colleagues around. Her fun, smart, supportive colleagues. Alicia smiles back at her when she lifts her head from the paper she's been reading all day. 

"Good news from home?" 

"Something like that. Just making plans with a friend for the weekend."

"I can't believe you still travel home so often." Alicia sighs. She is from New Mexico as well, which is how they bonded. She also studied in Denver in the 90s, which is how they became a little more than colleagues. Alicia is the closest thing to a friend and a mentor she has here.

"I guess I'm trying to make up for lost time. These years when I barely visited."

"Yeah, I get that. My kids keep asking to go visit their grandparents."

Liz nods. 

"Listen, I know it's a bit out of the blue, but I've been thinking about it for a while..." Alicia starts. "I want to start my own lab. My partner and I have been saving money and. Well, we both want to move closer to home and Albuquerque doesn't seem like such a bad idea. It's not. Nothing's real yet, but if you ever wanted to leave this place, I'll be more than happy to take you with me."

Liz reaches to her and wraps her in a hug. She doesn't know if they're there yet but what she just said to her makes her feel like they are. 

"Thank you. Thank you. So, so much. I would love to come with you."

_**Liz Ortecho**_

**17:08** My day got way better, hope yours too! 

**17:09** Still on for tequila and ice cream though! ❤️

Maria laughs when she puts her phone back in her pocket. Her bar is pretty empty, save for a few regulars nursing their beers at tables far far away from her (she knows better than to let them sit at the bar). 

She's looking at blueprints for her bar. And at Pinterest boards that Rosa keeps sending her. Having time to think about what she really wants to do is hard. It's new and challenging, and what if she makes the wrong decision with all this time and money on her hands? What if she drives her business into the ground? What if she loses all that money? What if people move to another bar while she redecorates?

"It's not redecorating if you're rebuilding your bar so that it doesn't fall apart." Kyle told her last night when he came by. She knows he's right, it doesn't mean she won't stress about it.

Her instinct is telling her that adding food to the bar is the best option. That, on top of organizing more regular open mic nights and letting local musicians play a few gigs is the best way to open up the bar to other people. That it will allow her to keep more normal hours while also hiring people in desperate need of a job. Her instinct is also telling her that Roswell already has enough restaurants and diners. And that combining beer and food is impossible (Alex told her that actually). 

"Fixed your car." Michael says, sliding her keys on the counter and interrupting her thoughts. 

He gives her a big smile. 

"Thank you. I really needed that today."

"I believe you." Michael replies, laughing. 

"What do you know?" 

"Well, this is you breaking into your own bar." he says, showing a picture on his phone. "This is a screenshot of your texts to Max cursing your coffee machine manufacturer. You're mostly insulting me." he continues, sliding to the last picture. "Oh, and this is the raccoon family I found in the hood of your car."

A family of raccoons. That makes perfect sense with the day she's having. She sighs heavily, and looks at Michael with eyes that reflect frustration, exhaustion, and probably show the despair she's feeling that this day will never end.

"Alex made me bring you a milkshake from the diner." he says, pushing the cup that's been here since he arrived but that she just noticed. "And Rosa said to go with your gut." he adds, nodding to the blueprints. 

Those last sentences make her quite happy. It's good that he's getting out there, bonding with people that aren't his family. Which begs the question:

"Who sent you the first picture?" 

"Oh, Isobel thought it was hilarious that you pretended to ignore him this morning while ninjaing your way into your own bar. So she group-texted." he replies with a grin. She's counting the number of people aware of her misfortunes when he starts to speak again. 

"I made a double of your keys. One you can hide somewhere safe.". His grin turns into a genuine smile when he hands it to her. 

"I'm really glad we're friends again." Maria tells him, responding to his smile. "I missed my friend the cowboy mechanic."

The smile he gives her when she gives him a beer is one she hadn't seen in a while. Or maybe not ever. Michael looks at peace. 

"So, you're going with your gut then?" he asks, dragging the blueprints towards him. 

"Probably.". Her smile is bright. 

**_Maria DeLuca_ **

**19:48** My day got way better. Can't wait to see you in a few days! ❤️

* * *

Her brother looks worried. She does not like to see her brother worried. 

"What's up baby bro?" she asks, trying to sound cheerful as she sits down in front of him. They're at a café near town, in the middle of the desert. The view of the mountains is staggering in the sunlight.

She comes here to paint happy things. Kyle arrived a few minutes ago, sat and waited until she was done. 

"Not much. Just wanted to see you I guess." he replies with a smile. It doesn't reach his eyes. 

"Quit it. What's wrong?" Rosa asks pointedly. She's usually the kind to let things come out genuinely, but his worry is starting to make her worry, and she doesn't want to worry. She has to be focused tomorrow.

"Nothing. I'm just worried about Alex. And you, a bit, but behind a computer is safe. Going there, with Guerin... Why can't Greg just go with him? It'd be safer." 

"Alex will be fine. Michael is not my favorite person, but he's smart, and he's got telekinesis. And Alex is a soldier, he's smart, organized and prepared. They will be okay, I promise." she states reassuringly. She actually believes all of that herself, but is still worried about Alex. Deep Sky doesn't seem like a group of nice welcoming people. But she's focusing. For tomorrow and the day after that. The way she learned. Acknowledge her feelings, focus, and talk it out. Just, the talking it out will have to wait a couple of days. 

"I know, I know. I just can't help it." Kyle adds. 

"But you seemed so happy lately!" This is her way of very subtly figuring out if she is indeed right, and her brother has finally told the person he really liked that he liked them and they said it back. This is also her way of figuring out if she and Maria have won their bet by guessing it was Isobel rather than Gregory Manes, the less fun Manes brother. 

"I was. I am! But I can be several things at the same time. I am a complex character Rosita." he answers. 

"So, who is it Kylito?" she asks, raising her eyebrows. 

"No-one. She's no-one." he says, blushing. 

"Right. She also doesn't have blond hair, really green eyes and alien proteins floating around in her body." Rosa laughs. 

Kyle looks startled. And surprised. And gets even redder. And then decides to completely ignore what his sister just said. 

"Proteins don't float around. They're in your cells, Rosa."

"Yes Rosa, you should know that, Rosa. Everybody knows that, Rosa." Alex imitates as he takes a seat next to Kyle. 

"I would like for people to stop showing up from behind me. It's stressful." Kyle complains. Rosa wears her question in her eyes, but Alex immediately shoots back. 

"Yes, we wouldn't want these wrinkles to widen." He says, touching Kyle's forehead. 

He swats back his arm. 

"That'll teach me to worry about you." Kyle replies. 

"Rosa got me ice cream, and even though I don't feel great all the time, it's getting better. I'm less sad." Alex answers honestly. They'd had a good cry listening to Third Eye Blind but he was right. He was getting better. 

"No, not Forrest. Although you should have called me." Kyle sighs. 

"Wait, is this about tomorrow? We'll be fine Kyle, I promise. I'll stay safe." his hand moves to Kyle's cheek and he forces him to look at him. "Just enjoy your first day off in a month. Okay?" he wonders softly. 

"Okay." Kyle sighs, smiling at him.

Rosa feels like she might cry. She won't, but she might. She won't. She. Too late. It's not her fault if her best friend who she considers family and her brother together make her emotional. She hadn't expected to see them so close when she had come back, but Kyle had grown so much and Alex was more open, and now they just make perfect sense together. 

Alex sees her immediately, and before she has time to wipe the tears off her cheeks, his chair has magically jumped on her side and he's wrapping her in a hug. 

"Oh no. Rosa, I promise, it will be okay. I will be okay, we all will be. And then we can go back to our lives, to your beautiful art. Everything will be fine."

"I know that!" she exclaims, sniffling.

She can feel Kyle on her other side, squeezing her arm. She wipes the tears off her cheeks and disentangles herself from Alex. 

"I know we'll be fine! I'm just really proud of the two of you. Like individually and together. The grown-up versions of yourselves are pretty amazing."

They both look sheepish. 

"You're the best sister I could ever ask for." Kyle tells her when he looks up.

Rosa can feel the heat rise from her heart to her cheeks, the happiness of having her family so close and loving encompassing everything else. So she grabs both of their hands and tells them. 

"I love you both so much and I'm really happy you're in my life."

"We love you too, and we're really happy you're back." Alex tells her, ruffling her hair. "All five feet of you."

She sticks out her tongue while Kyle gets up, discreetly wiping his own tears.

"So, cabin then?" 

"Yes. But you're not cooking." Alex replies as he gets up himself. 

"Rosa and I cooked last time and it was perfectly edible!" 

"Edible the way hospital food is edible."

"You had two plates!" 

"I didn't want to hurt your feelings."

She can hear them bickering all the way to their cars, while she finishes packing her art supplies and the work of the day.

She really is lucky to have those two idiots in her life.

* * *

The house looks perfect. She knows she shouldn't worry about how it looks, or how messy it is, or if there's own crumb in the kitchen, but cleaning helps. It brings her anxiety down and she actually feels useful. She can't read those journals again, because she took copious notes, and then made flashcards out of those notes, and she still feels like she knows nothing. Like that time she took a quantum physics class in college so she could bring her notes to Michael and felt like the dummest person on any planet.

The bell rings, interrupting her cleaning the coffee table for the third time in as many hours. 

Michael jumps from the stairs, and gets to the door before she has time to move from the living room. Does he get super speed now too? 

"I brought company." she hears Max as he crosses the door. He gives her a big hug and kisses her on the forehead. 

"I got lost. Again. So Max guided me here, like the gentleman he is." Nina says, following him. 

"It's all sand and sun. Very confusing.". She seems awkward, which does not fit with everything she's learnt about her in the past week. "I brought wine. It's from back home. It's not like the best wine in the whole world, but it's pretty good.". She hands her a bottle of red wine. "For when you finally get elected. Or, is it get someone elected?". She looks to Max. 

"Second one, right, Iz?" 

"Yeah." she says, taking the bottle to put it in the kitchen. She knows she sounds cold, but she doesn't know how to move past the awkwardness of the situation. And she always knows how to navigate social situations. She takes a deep breath before walking out of the kitchen, only to be met with Michael moving past her. 

"I'm getting water, do you want anything?" he asks. He looks excited, which she can't blame him for. It makes her feel a little better if anything. 

Nina has taken a seat next to Max on the couch and they seem to be immersed in conversation. 

"You do realize there have been French writers since Victor Hugo, right?"

"Well, yes, but no-one ever wants to talk about Les Misérables with me. You're the only person I know who's actually read it."

"Yeah, because high school made me." Nina scoffs.

Michael laughs at that. 

"I like books. I always have one with me. It's just that I like contemporary literature more."

"So it is possible to read other books than tragic Russian literature then?" Michael wonders mockingly. 

"Shocker." Isobel says, winking at Max.

Nina laughs softly. 

"So Max said you had a list of questions." Nina tells Isobel after a beat. She seems to have found her footing in her house. In less than ten minutes. Even _she_ is amazed. 

"Yes, Iz drew up an actual list." Michael replies with a soft smile. 

"That's really smart." Nina tells her, smiling.

"Thank you. My brothers thought it was ridiculous." she answers, pulling the list from her pocket. She stops their protesting with a single look. 

'Impressive.' she hears Nina, without seeing her lips moving. 

"So, question number one, telepathy?" Isobel chuckles. 

"It's actually pretty instinctive. Just think about something you want to say to someone, and think that you want to say it to that someone." Nina explains. 

"Really?" Michael wonders. 

"I just told Michael that it's a lot easier with people you know really well. And practice will make it natural. You won't even have to think about it!"

"Okay, okay. We were also wondering how you can send visions to people."

"Well, that's not as easy. We all have particular abilities. Things we're naturally good at, without needing to practice or discover. I send visions. It's kind of a different version of your thing Isobel. I can usually control them, but sometimes big emotions take over and I send images to people. Mostly people I'm related to."

"Like in 2015." Michael finishes.

Nina nods. 

"So, do I have it too?" 

"From what I understand, our powers are kind of a nature/nurture thing. Some talents we have naturally, genetically, others we have to work for."

"What I'm confused about is, what are we? Are we humans with like witchy abilities? Are we something else altogether?" Isobel asks. It's been the hardest part of all this. For the past week she has wondered about what she is. Who she is. Just like after Noah. She hates that feeling. 

"The journals aren't that clear, and my grandmother didn't really know. There was evolution on our planet, and our species is the result of that, but I wouldn't say we're humans. We didn't develop in the same environment, our planet was different from Earth. We have 23 pairs of chromosomes, but our biology is different. Different proteins, different mitochondria. I don't think we're human. Or witches. Although that would be cool."

"So we can all use telekinesis, or send visions, or speak telepathically?" Max asks. 

"Theoretically, yes. The electricity thing, though... I've never seen it anywhere else. I think it's a special ability. Something he passed on to you when. Well, you know."

"One that made him think he was special and chosen by God or something before he cloned himself." Max sighs. 

* * *

He shows up first. He always shows up first. He's imagining the jokes Isobel will have when Alex opens the door. 

"Max! You're... right on time." he says, looking at the clock next to door. "I guess we're running a little late." His hair is a mess, his shirt is barely on and he has a feather in his hair. Max can hear noises from behind him. Are there kids here? He doesn't ask and simply follows Alex into the cabin. 

What he sees bolts him into place before sending him into a laugh. The scene is pure chaos. Rosa and Kyle, wearing matching pajamas, throwing pillows at each other and giggling like children. The room is covered in feathers and they don't seem to notice him. 

"Do you want coffee? Food?" Alex asks, smiling at the two idiots in front of him, who have yet to see them. 

"Coffee sounds great."

"Coffee is not recommended with a pacemaker Max!", a muffled shout from the couch where Kyle is currently weathering a four-pillow attack. Rosa has somehow gathered all the pillows behind her and is throwing them all at her brother, who has buried his head inside of the couch cushions.

"I'm not sure you should take advice from a guy who's losing at pillow fight, but I might have some decaf lying around. Or basic water." Alex says, yawning and walking to the open kitchen. 

"Did you get any sleep last night?" Max wonders. Babysitting might not be recommended before road tripping with the cosmic love of your life to take down a murderous paramilitary organization. 

"Yeah, we just slept late." Alex smiles softly. 

"So, you're ready? You feel ready?" 

"Yes. It's a good plan. It's a smart plan." he replies, echoing Liz's words. 

Max nods. It is a good, smart plan. It's also a dangerous, but he knows Alex knows that. 

"Michael will be fine."

"I know that." Max smiles. He knows that. Really. He's learning to trust people. To trust that they know how to protect themselves.

"So, how are you?" Alex wonders, pushing a glass of water towards him while taking a sip of his own. 

"Good. I'm good. Therapy is good."

"Yeah. Kyle said the therapists of Roswell should start paying him with the number of people he's sending their way." Alex snickers. 

There is a pause. 

"I feel like I'm learning so much about myself. Accepting a lot more about myself too. And others, I guess. It's a nice feeling."

"Yeah. It is a nice feeling."

"How long have you been seeing a therapist?" 

"When I came back from Iraq I went to see this guy from the veterans' office, but he wasn't really a good fit. So I stopped. But Kyle convinced me to try again with someone new, and I've been seeing him for a year and a half now. You?" 

"A month. She's good. Lets me take my time to think about what I want to say and to look back on what I said."

"Yeah. I definitely need time to process things too. And I'm learning to let people know that I need that time. Instead of walking away."

Max nods and there is a comfortable silence.

"I'm learning that I can't control everything. Or everyone. And that's okay."

Alex nods and finishes his coffee. 

"That's how I know that you and Michael will be perfectly fine. Because I know that you are good at this."

Alex's cheeks go red. He's apparently not used to compliments. Which is weird considering how many times he's heard Michael rave about him. 

"Well, I learned from the best." Alex chuckles. 

"Yes, yes you did." Rosa says from behind him, ruffling his hair. "Michael and Isobel are here. She is very critical of our choice of outfit though, so I'm not sure we should let her in."

* * *

They're all waiting in front of his cabin. Kyle and Rosa have changed into everyday clothes. Maria arrived a little after Michael and Isobel, apologizing profusely after being stuck at the bank. Now they're all staring at the road, waiting for Liz to arrive, while Michael checks his car for the hundredth time.

"You know, nothing has moved since you last looked, two minutes ago." Rosa tells him.

"You made me sign a paper stating that I would not let Alex die, I'm just being thorough." Michael says from under the car where he has crawled.

Before Alex has time to ask all the questions he wants to ask (including 'How did you get Michael Guerin to put anything in writing?'), Liz pulls up, honking loudly.

"I stopped by the diner, got you milkshakes and pan dulces for the road!" she says, jumping out of her car and immediately into Alex's arms.

"I didn't make you too late, right?" she says when she leaves his arms.

"No, don't worry about it. We should probably get going though." he replies.

All his friends hug him, one by one, giving him words of encouragement, filling him up with love before he leaves for Texas. Before _they_ leave for Texas.

They step into the car and Michael gives him a huge, reassuring smile when he starts the engine.

"Let's take down an evil paramilitary."

If the smiles and supportive waves and hollers behind them are anything to go by, they might just do that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading until the end!  
> That first scene was honestly just an excuse for me to pretend that I'm writing for ER, but I also really enjoy their dynamic!  
> I also made myself cry with Alex, so let me know if you felt all the emotions too!  
> In the next chapter, we will find ourselves in Texas, and we will learn a lot more about Planet Alien and how it turned Mr Jones into what he is today.  
> As always, don't hesitate to leave kudos or comments, they always make me so so SO happy!


	11. Fast Car

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "After she came back from rehab, we spent some time together. She asked me to fix some stuff in the house before Liz came back, then she bet me that I couldn't stop drinking for a month, and after I won she made me listen to Blur. I don't know, I guess one day she was just. There." Michael says fondly. "And she texts almost as much as her brother."
> 
> "I have so many questions." Alex chuckles.  
> Michael just hands him his phone.
> 
> "15:32 if you let anything happen to Alex I will murder you myself  
> 15:33 Rosa will help  
> 15:42 Guerin, answer  
> 15:44 Nina says she can't tell me if you're still alive and Alex isn't answering  
> 15:52 I  
> 15:52 WILL  
> 15:52 KILL  
> 15:53 YOU  
> 15:58 I can't believe you texted Rosa back  
> 16:01 report back in an hour" Alex reads, laughing more and more with each text. 
> 
> "They love you a lot." Michael tells him, smiling. 
> 
> "Yeah. I guess they do." Alex replies, a smile on his face as well. 
> 
> That smile is still there when he falls asleep, a few minutes later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ONLY THREE CHAPTERS TO GO!
> 
> As always, thank you for the continuing kudos and bookmarks! They warm my heart!  
> This one was a lot of fun to write, as there is A LOT happening. Michael and Alex drive to Texas, Rosa and Jenna become professional hackers, Kyle and Isobel spend some time together, and Maria and Liz plan for the future.  
> I tried something a little new with this chapter, I made a playlist! You can find it on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6kGIQNZ71qndGi5S0vUqi1?si=2jchUukvSSm52XxA1TjrXA  
> Title is from Tracy Chapman (and also on the playlist): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwrHwZyFN7M

_The Background, Third Eye Blind_

The music wakes him up. Or rather, Alex singing perfectly on top of the music wakes him up. He doesn't open his eyes, just takes in the sound of his voice as he softly sings the lyrics to a song he thinks he knows.

_And I would never lie to you no_  
_I would never lie to you no_  
_I felt you long after we were through, we were through_  
_The plans I make still have you in them_  
_Cause you come swimming into view_  
_And I'm hanging on your words_  
_Like I always used to do_  
_The words they use so lightly_  
_I only feel for you_  
_I only know because I carry you around_  
_In the background_  
_Cause I felt you long after we were through_  
_Well you come swimming into view_  
_And I'm hanging on your words_  
_Like I always used to do_  
_The words they use so lightly_  
_I only feel to you_  
_I only know because_  
_I'm way I'm way in the background_  
_I'm in the background_

Michael stretches after the next song has started, and Alex lowers the volume.

"You're awake." Alex whispers softly. Michael feels a punch to his heart but tries to hide it. He probably shouldn't be letting himself feel all those memories. Or at least not show that he's feeling them. Well, he does his best, but he's never been very good at lying to Alex. 

"Yeah. Are we in Texas already?" 

"Can't you tell by the obvious change in scenery?" Alex asks sarcastically, eyes on the road. Michael probably shouldn't laugh this hard at his joke, but he's always found Alex funny. His dry, sarcastic humor fits him perfectly (everything fits him perfectly).

"Are you okay to drive soon? I can feel my eyes closing." Alex says with a yawn. 

"Of course. Wouldn't want us to crash." Michael replies, giving Alex his brightest smile.

He pulls over on the side of the road and gets out of the car, stretching. When Michael takes his place in the driver seat, he starts fidgeting with the radio. 

"Rosa made sure you had some sad country to listen to. And some Blur too apparently." Alex says. Michael chuckles. 

"I like Rosa. She's funny and caring."

"I know that. How do you know that?" Alex wonders inquisitively as Michael starts the car. 

"After she came back from rehab, we spent some time together. She asked me to fix some stuff in the house before Liz came back, then she bet me that I couldn't stop drinking for a month, and after I won she made me listen to Blur. I don't know, I guess one day she was just. There." Michael says fondly. "And she texts almost as much as her brother."

"I have so many questions." Alex chuckles.  
Michael just hands him his phone.

" **15:32** if you let anything happen to Alex I will murder you myself  
**15:33** Rosa will help  
**15:42** Guerin, answer  
**15:44** Nina says she can't tell me if you're still alive and Alex isn't answering  
**15:52** I  
**15:52** WILL  
**15:52** KILL  
**15:53** YOU  
**15:58** I can't believe you texted Rosa back  
**16:01** report back in an hour" Alex reads, laughing more and more with each text. 

"They love you a lot." Michael tells him, smiling. 

"Yeah. I guess they do." Alex replies, a smile on his face as well. 

That smile is still there when he falls asleep, a few minutes later. 

* * *

_Good as Hell, Lizzo_

"I can't believe you just kicked your brother out." Jenna laughs, leaning back on the couch. 

"He's fraternizing with the enemy." Rosa replies. 

"I thought you and Isobel were friends."

"Oh, we are. I meant _your_ alien." Rosa says, locking the door to the cabin. Jenna promised her siblings that she would stay with her tonight and not leave her alone in the cabin at the mercy of bears (not that Roswell has ever had any bears). 

Jenna sighs. "We're fine. I'm fine."

"Suuuuuuuuure."

"We are. I am. It's fine, really. There are other, more important things.". She looks uncomfortable, and Rosa immediately feels a pang of guilt. Hanging out with Isobel has made her too snoopy. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that."

"No, it's okay. I just. I have to talk to her at some point, and I know she hates me, but I'm also a lot more mad at her than I thought I would be, so. I need to think about what I want to say."

"Yeah. It sucks when the people you love lie to you." Rosa sighs. 

"Yeah."

She is dealing with it. Dealing with the fact that her mother had lied, about something so important, on top of everything else she had lied about. That Jim Valenti, who took her in, took care of her, never let her know why. She has her brother to help. 

"So, do you want to go over anything for tomorrow?" Jenna asks, clearly needing to change the subject. 

"No, I'm good. Alex made me study last night. Liz and Kyle are just worried about bears attacking me out in the wild."

"Why make up fake dangers when you're facing two very real threats." Jenna wonders rhetorically. 

"Because they make life more fun!" Rosa fake cheers, heading to the kitchen to start dinner. 

They spend the evening in comfortable banter. Tomorrow will come soon enough. 

* * *

_Don't Go Away, Oasis_

It's around 8 when Michael pulls up to a bar. Or a restaurant. Or maybe a diner. It says "Food and live music" but doesn't appear to have any name besides that.   
Alex wakes up when he stops the car. 

"That's not the motel." he tells him, but he doesn't seem annoyed. 

"I thought we could use some food before we get our beauty sleep." Michael replies with a wink, stepping out of Alex's car.

He can hear Alex's small laugh as he shakes his head.

They sit in a booth and wait for their waiter, Michael talking about the uneventful road Alex missed while he was sleeping. After they've ordered, Alex excuses himself to go to the bathroom. 

In the less than sixty seconds that Alex is gone, Michael manages to get up on the stage, convince the band to let him sing, and accompany him. His voice is raw, a little broken, tired from the road and the past few days. It's honest.  
He's reaching the chorus when he sees Alex come back upstairs. 

_So don't go away, say what you say_  
_But say that you'll stay_  
_Forever and a day in the time of my life_  
_'Cause I need more time, yes, I need more time_  
_Just to make things right_

_Damn my situation and the games I have to play_  
_With all the things caught in my mind_  
_Damn my education I can't find the words to say_  
_About the things caught in my mind_

_I don't wanna be there when you're coming down_  
_I don't wanna be there when you hit the ground_

_So don't go away_  
_Say what you say_  
_Say that you'll stay_  
_Forever and a day_  
_In the time of my life_  
_'Cause I need more time_  
_Yes, I need more time_  
_Just to make things right_

_Me and you: what's going on?_  
_All we seem to know is how to show_  
_The feelings that are wrong_

_So don't go away_  
_Say what you say_  
_Say that you'll stay_  
_Forever and a day_  
_In the time of my life_  
_'Cause I need more time_  
_Yes, I need more time_  
_Just to make things right_

He ends the song right there, the band taking over and looks right into Alex's eyes, the way he has the whole song.   
Alex has shown no emotions. A little surprise when he first came up. And then nothing. 

But at least it's out there. At least he's being brave, even if he doesn't really have the words (no matter how much he tries to rehearse in the shower). He loves him. And he will make things right. 

* * *

  
_Here With Me, Dido_

The night is quiet. She has been sitting on the roof with Maria for two hours now, exchanging stories, laughs and tequila shots. The ice cream was gone in half an hour.

They are finally starting to feel some air, bringing some much needed cool to the warm night. Maria leans her head back, taking in the wind.

"I feel like such a weight has lifted off my shoulders, you know. Sure, we're facing an evil corporation and there's an alien supervilain that we still have to deal with, but. We're happy. Alex is happy, Rosa is happy, Kyle is unbelievably happy. And you're happy too. Things are going well." Maria says. 

"So you're happy then?" 

"Yeah. I've been dreaming of what I could do with this place ever since I started working there, you know? And now it's really happening. And it's the unknown, so it should be scary, but I'm just. I'm really excited about it. The Wild Pony is finally becoming the place I always wanted it to be."

Liz leans on her shoulder. 

"We're so proud of you." she whispers to her friend. 

She hears Maria sniffle.

"You've all been so supportive. Sometimes I'm not sure that I deserve it." 

Liz moves away immediately to take Maria's face into her hands. 

"You deserve every single part of it. We love you and we're so proud of you for getting your dream and for making this place a little better. Okay?" 

Maria doesn't answer. 

"Okay?" she asks again, forcing her to look into her eyes. 

"Okay. I love you Liz."

"I love you too." Liz replies as she settles back on her shoulder. 

"So, what are you going to do about your dream?" Maria asks softly. 

"I made a list obviously. Then I threw it out. Then I made a new list. Then Rosa and Michael told me to go with my gut. So I made another list."

"Cause your gut says list."

"Always."

"You would probably win a Nobel Prize for listing."

"I definitely would." Liz laughs. 

"Where are those lists getting you?" 

"I hate it at Genoryx. I like my colleagues, and I sort of like my work but I feel like it's never going to amount to anything. Or if it does, it will probably be terrible. Or straight-up evil. But they also have the money do the research I actually want to do."

Maria just nods, not saying anything. It's always been like that when Liz has to make a decision. Maria lets her talk it out, simply serving as a supportive bystander while she comes to a decision. 

"But Alicia is amazing, and smart, and we want to do the same research, and even with less money, at least it would be ethical. And nothing's set in stone yet. So we have time to really develop something amazing."

"Good listing." Maria chuckles. 

"Yeah, so I might have made my decision with the first list, but it's kind of really fucking scary." Liz laughs. It's more of a nervous laughter than anything. She's not like Maria, who's excited about the unknown. She makes lists. She makes plans. Every time she runs, she doesn't run into the unknown. She runs to a job she knows, with a support system she knows, in a city she has researched copiously. 

"You'll be amazing. I promise." Maria says, kissing her forehead.

The night is still quiet around them. They will be amazing. Because they have each other. 

* * *

  
_Iris, The Goo Goo Dolls_

"Forrest and I broke up." Alex whispers when Michael comes back to sit. 

"What? How? Why on earth would anyone leave you?"

Alex gives him a pointed look (which, honestly, he deserves). 

"He didn't break up with me. It was mutual. We didn't see that much of a future together. I just wanted to tell you before you found out about it and jumped to false conclusions." Alex says coldly. 

"What kind of false conclusions?" Michael can feel the anger come up. He thought they were past this. Past the bitterness and hurt, but apparently those were false conclusions too. 

"I didn't break up with him because of you."  
Michael feels a punch to his heart. He knows that, of course he does. Alex is past him, Alex is better without him. It still hurts to hear it confirmed by the man himself however. 

"I didn't decide to leave him because I still love you or because I only see a future with you."

Michael can feel the tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

"I broke up with him because I am my own person. Because as happy as I was, there was always something missing. And I want the whole thing."

"You deserve the whole thing." Michael whispers. "Someone who loves you more than anything and treats you wonderdully. Someone who makes you feel like forever."  
Michael looks up to see that Alex is crying.

"No, Alex, I didn't mean to... I'm so sorry, about everything..." Michael trails off. 

"I know. I didn't break up with him because you make me feel all that, but it doesn't mean that you don't make me feel all that. I'm just. I'm not sure I'm ready." 

A wave of hope takes over Michael. He doesn't control the huge smile that breaks off on his face. Nor does he control the small giggle that bubbles in his throat. 

"I love you." It's a simple present tense. "I'll wait as long as you need. I love you." A second time, to make sure he hears it.

"Okay." Alex whispers, as Michael wipes the tears from his face. 

The urge to kiss every inch of that beautiful face is hard to resist, but he fights his instincts. He will wait for him.

* * *

_Armor, Sara Bareilles_

"I think you're having too much fun with this." Jenna tells her fondly, as Rosa twirls around on her chair, arms in the air as a sign of victory.   
  
"I think you're not having enough fun." Rosa replies. "We are taking down bad people. We're making our world safer. And they will never know it was us."  
  
"Yes. But we're not done yet. Alex and Michael still have to get all of their information, and convince them that there are no more aliens."  
  
"And you made Alex the best gift in the world. We're winning!" Rosa exclaims.  
Jenna laughs at her, the way Liz or Kyle laugh at her. Like a proud big sister. She doesn't mind it, really. Wishes she would be treated more like an adult sometimes, but she has Alex and Isobel for that. 

"We just need to make sure we've erased all our tracks. And then we'll celebrate." Jenna tells her, focusing back on her screen. 

So they do just that. Jenna makes sure no-one can see that Alex Manes' credentials were used to transfer John Gibbons to the middle of nowhere, Nebraska. That the date of the transfer, three months from now, is the right one. Rosa checks, double checks, and triple checks that the leak of Sherriff Gibbons' embezzlement cannot be traced back to them. That he won't suspect a thing when the mayor asks for his head in a couple of weeks, after he's checked, double checked and triple checked their information. 

"This is the proudest of myself I've ever been. And I've been clean eight months! I can't believe we actually did something good!". Rosa doesn't control her excitement the second done they are done. This is not a high. It's better, somehow, because there's no guilt. It's not as thrilling in the moment, not as transporting, but it... They did something good. For a lot of people. It has to be worth something.   
Jenna is smiling at her. She seems genuinely happy. 

"I like taking down bad people without using my gun." she says, twirling her chair like Rosa has earlier.   
Rosa laughs a little. 

"I thought you liked your gun.". Rosa refrains from making the obvious reference to Jenna being Eliot, herself Hardison and their need to find a genius thief to complete their team. Jenna does not understand cable television references. And then she makes jokes about how she's just like her brother.   
Jenna just raises her shoulders.

"I think I'm turning into an Eliot."

Rosa barely has time to register what she just heard when Jenna continues. "I've seen too much." she says in a deep, dramatic cowboy voice.

Rosa doesn't control her laughter. Jenna can't stay serious for long either.   
Taking down bad people really is nice. 

* * *

_Hold On, Alabama Shakes_

"This is the creepiest thing I've ever seen. And I'm the go-to person to bury bodies." Michael sighs as they walk into the facility. 

There's barely any light. He feels watched, hunted, tracked. His body is tense, on high alert. 

"I think we're here." Michael says, stopping in front of a door that says 'Restricted Access'. He looks into his eyes before starting to pick the lock. No technology, just a basic, normal lock. In a facility that has tech in every corner. 

"Wait!" Alex whisper-shouts, putting his hand on his. "This is too easy."

"Yeah. Because they're stupid."

"Maybe. But they're high-ranking military. They wouldn't make that kind of mistake." Alex still whispers, taking Michael away from the door while he takes out his scanner.

"Shit. There's someone behind that door."

"That makes no sense. Everyone's out for training, we checked. And the Sheriff is passed out in his office."

  
_"Sheriff Gibbons, my name is Captain Alex Manes, US Air Force. This is my colleague, Kyle Valenti."_  
_He hasn't told Michael about that. He hopes his acting is good enough to conceal his annoyance._

_"Great to meet you." Michael says, drawling his words the way he only does when he's very drunk. Or very flirty._

_"How can I help you two gentlemen?" the Sherriff asks with a smile that tells Alex he knows exactly who he is._

_"We were hoping to talk in private, Sherriff. What would you say to lunch? Maybe your brother could join us?" Alex asks him, already taking him towards the restaurant near the station. Michael is following and he can see him grinning like an idiot. They sit in a private room in the restaurant._

_A steak, a couple of beers and the Sherriff seems more convinced than ever that all aliens are gone from Earth. His brother is less enthusiastic, but he's only had one beer._  
_"So your father killed them all?" he asks._

_"Oh yeah. He was very good at that." Michael, nodding to them like they're in on a secret._

_"And you're shutting everything down?"_

_"Yes. I know my family and yours have had our differences, but we want what is best for our country. Ultimately they were too much of a liability and we couldn't risk it. My father saw that." Alex replies. It hurts to say that. A lot. No matter how much he's rehearsed it to try to numb himself to the pain of bringing up the damage his father inflicted on an entire species just because they existed._

_"I was sorry to hear of his passing." John Gibbons tells him._

_"Yes. I'm honoring his legacy."_

_"Yes. Our fathers wanted to protect our communities first and foremost, and I'm sure they would be very proud of the work you are accomplishing here." Michael adds. Alex can feel his hand squeezing his under the table when Air Force Gibbons asks for the check._

_"It's good that you came here." he says when the waiter has left. "To let us know. Now we can make sure not one of them comes back again."_

_Despite the laughter growing in his chest, Alex nods seriously. He hopes Michael is controlling whatever giggles will eventually burst out of him._  
_They leave the restaurant, the two brothers going their way. Or rather, John carrying Dustin Gibbons to the station before he falls asleep (good thing they brought those sleeping mess with them)._  
_Once they're out of sight, Michael takes him in his arms and twirls him around, laughing._

_"They're so fucking stupid! This is so fucking amazing! You were incredible in there Alex." he says, putting him down._

_"You have some acting talents too." he replies, smiling. "Now, let's destroy their facility and go home."_

_The smile Michael gives him is different. Like there's something he really wants to say._

_"What?"_

_"Nothing."_

_"You look like you want to say something."_

_"I mean, I do."_

_"So?"_

_"I said I would wait. So I'm waiting." Michael grins, winking._

_"Flirting with me is not waiting!" Alex shouts after him once he's regained his composure._

  
"It can't be this easy." Alex repeats as they move to another room that is not locked. 

"I mean, there is a cupboard with 'Alien Files' taped to it, so I think our big vilains are a lot dummer than you make them to be." Michael says, opening the cupboard. 

"Michael, wait!". Alex jumps on him, convinced that a bomb, an automatic rifle, or whatever hell an evil paramilitary organization can imagine to defend itself is behind the door. 

But there's nothing. Just pages and pages of paper flying. Drawings of green people. Drawings of purple hearts. Drawings of cartoon UFOs. Countless descriptions of immortality. Attempts at deciphering alien alphabet. 

"You think there's anything useful in there?" Michael asks after a few minutes. 

"They're pretty clueless, I don't think you'll get any information there." a voice says from the door. Alex goes to his gun before he even registers who it is. 

"I know our last Skype was a year ago, but I haven't changed that much, right?" Clay asks.   
He hasn't. His hair is a bit longer, wrapped in a ponytail. He's wearing a suit. Alex immediately puts his gun back.

"How? Why are you here?" he wonders, getting up to greet him. 

"An alien visited me last month. Really nice woman. I'm guessing she's related to you?" he asks, turning to Michael. "Anyway. It reminded me of everything Jesse told me. I thought you would take everything down after he died, but I remembered this place, so I came to check. Didn't think I would find you here though."  
Alex isn't sure what to reply. Michael hasn't moved an inch since Clay arrived. 

"I never believed in the crap our father told us. That's why I ran as soon as I could." he says to Michael. "I'm sorry." he says to Alex, more softly. "Do you need help with anything here?" he asks, walking to the cupboard.

"You really think nothing's useful here?" Michael asks. He voice is soft, the way it was when they were teenagers and he was still hopeful with everything. 

"There are some kind of memoirs in the other room, but I already scanned it." Clay says with a smile, waving a military-grade mini-scanner with a proud smile. 

"Maybe we should look at the files for a bit to make sure, and then get the hell out of here." Alex offers.  
Michael nods, smiles at him, and goes back to the floor to look at what is still there.Clay squeezes his shoulder before looking inside the cupboard while Alex tours the rest of the room.

They grab a few more things before leaving. Maybe it's okay if things are easy. 

* * *

_The Only Exception, Paramore_

He still can't believe it. He knows he has been wearing a stupid smile these past few weeks. Rosa has told him that. Alex has smiled at him with that proud knowing smile of his.  
He knows he has particularly shown that stupid smile today. Rosa had kicked him out of the cabin yesterday after he had asked Jenna to check for wild animals one too many times. So he had driven straight to her house, and hadn't left her side since. Their two days hadn't been that eventful. Mostly eating, and talking endlessly about absolutely everything, from politics to baseball to childhood memories. A perfect two days to forget about impending doom. Impending doom that they have now escaped, thanks to their little gang of alien-protecting idiots.   
So he really can't help it. Isobel makes him stupidly happy. 

"What are you smiling at?" she wonders as she walks to his front door. 

"You." he says simply. He knows he still has that stupid smile on his face. He also knows that that is an incredibly cheesy line, but it's the truth, and he's learned that Isobel actually is a fan of over-the-top romantic statements. 

"You're ridiculous." she still replies, chuckling as she opens the door, dragging him inside by the hand.   
She kisses him the second the door is closed. It starts softly, and it's almost chaste, until she drops the keys to the floor, and pushes him back against the door. She moves to his neck, to that particular part of his body she discovered on their first night.

"I think I like being ridiculous." he says, dragging her face back to his, and wrapping his arms around her waist. She moves her arms to his neck, and lies her forehead on his. 

"I like it too. It makes me happy. You make me happy." she says, kissing him again. She wraps her legs around his, and helps him carry her to his bed with her telekinesis. 

"You make me really happy too." he says. They smile into their kiss. 

* * *

_This Is Hell, Elvis Costello_

First she has to go to the hospital, make sure they all made it. She doesn't know if Valenti is on tonight, but she catches sight of Nina the second she walks through the door. She looks the way she always looks when she is reaching the last hours of a long shift: a determined look in her eyes, her hair wrapped in a dozen hair bands. She's leaning against the wall, probably recapping her latest trauma patient, seeing everything she could have done better. She doesn't have time to dwell on that though.

"Hi." Jenna tells her as she comes in front of her. "Can we talk for a minute?"

Nina says nothing, simply leads the way to the ER lounge (it's not so much a lounge as a former utility closet with a few lockers and a coffee machine).

"So, after a week of avoiding me, you decide that showing up at 3 in the morning in the middle of my never-ending shift from hell is perfect timing for apologies." she states more than asks.

Jenna isn't sure what to answer to that. "I'm not, I'm not here to apologize." she stutters. Jenna Cameron does not stutter. Except in front of very angry French women.

"Right. Cause 'Hi, you look good' is more than enough three years after you walked out on us with no explanation." Nina snickers. Her anger is cold and Jenna can feel it through her bones. "I have the sixth car accident of the night coming in in two minutes, so be quick." she tells her, no longer looking at her.

"They're not car accidents."

"No." She's refusing. Plain and simple. She already knows but she refuses for it to be true.

"Evil Clone escaped."

"Fuck. How?" 

"I'm sorry."

"That one's not your fault. Who got him out?" 

"We don't know yet."

"Call Kyle, he has access to the video feed Alex set up."

"I will."

"How's everyone?" 

"Alive."

"I'm done in three hours, I'll come and meet you wherever you are."

"I can come pick you up. We'll probably need some medical supplies anyway."

"I can drive myself."

"Yes but I'll know exactly where we need to go."

"Fine. Bring food. And I'll deal with the medical stuff." She says, throwing the door closed.

She's here three hours later, in front of the hospital. Nina is out of her scrubs, and jumps on the coffee and donuts she got her.

"No one died. We almost lost a kid but he pulled through. You?" She's reporting like a soldier, a bit jarring for a woman who hates the military so much.

"We're meeting everyone in the desert."

"And the Texas duo?"

"Not answering their phones yet. Anything from Michael?"

"No. So he's probably alive."

The rest of the drive is silent. Nina is staring at the road, only looking down to eat. Jenna knows they have a lot to talk about. She does. Charlie has been really good at helping her figuring that out. She also knows now is not exactly the right time. She's just not sure Nina will want to listen once this is all done. 

* * *

_Line of Fire, Junip_

They had been woken up in the middle of the night by Jenna banging on his door. 

"Did someone die?" 

"Not yet. Evil Clone escaped."

He put on the first thing he found, and ran to Alex's house, using his key to come in and go check on the footage.   
Then he had run back to his car, and drive to his house, and now he's in the desert, with Isobel, waiting for coyotes to eat them.

"Do you think they'll realize that I'm wearing the same clothes as yesterday?" 

"There is an evil alien hellbent on destroying us, so I don't think they'll notice, no.". He smiles at her and rubs her arm. 

"I think Rosa knows." She says with a smile. He gives a small laugh. 

That's when Jenna arrives, Nina in the passenger seat. Kyle doubts they have talked since last week. Nina gives him a small hug. 

"So, did you figure who let public enemy number 1 out?"

He pulls out his phone and shows her the video he showed Isobel and Jenna earlier. 

"I tried facial recognition but she's not a match for anything." Jenna explains to Nina. 

Nina is biting her lip. 

"You know her. Of course you know her." Isobel says. 

"She's a friend of my grandmother. She stayed in Spain when my family flew, she thought she had a way to stay safe. I met her a few times." Nina sighs. "Her name is Almudena Suarez. Best cook on the planet." She takes a deep breath. "I'll call my mom, see if she knows anything that could be of help."

She steps away at the same time as Liz arrives. 

"Where's Maria?" Isobel asks immediately. 

"She had a vision. She and Rosa are tracking it down."  
They start moving to their cars, Nina coming back towards them, shaking her head.   
Liz stays back however. 

"Guys, where's Max?" 

"Didn't he go with Maria? I thought he was with you." Kyle replies. 

"He told me he was having dinner with you."

Isobel scoffs at that. 

"I don't do dinner dates with Max Evans." he tells them. He doesn't. He does them with Alex Manes. 

"So, where's Max?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe we made it this far! It's honestly astonishing!  
> As usual, don't hesitate to leave kudos and to comment, I want to know what you like, and why!
> 
> Next chapter, we will go looking for Max and deal with the aftermath of the Great Escape. Also, Manes brothers!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading to the end! Don't hesitate to leave comments, and let me know what you think! The frame of the story is mostly defined, but suggestions are most definitely welcome!  
> Also, since English is not my mother tongue, please let me know if you see anything that seems out of place! :)
> 
> I hope to update twice a week, but life might get in the way (also, writer's block).


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